Of Monsunos and Fairy Tails, Part I
by Myra the Sark
Summary: A series of events results in all Monsuno Essence being rejected from the world...along with the controllers! But can the latter all survive in a world of magic and mages, and for some as part of the infamous Fairy Tail Guild? Read and review please! On hold until I get done with summer-school. This will be all of season-one, then I'll start Part 2, and so on. ON HOLD; READ NOTE
1. Prologue

**I've had this idea in mind for a while. Especially after watching the end of the "Edolas" arc...and the news of the second season of Monsuno has motivated me! Note, the prologue sucks and shall be rewritten eventually. Once I get a better idea on how to word it. Begins towards the end of "Rising" with a twist!**

* * *

The moment of truth—that's what it was. All three faction leaders waited patiently (impatiently), to see what the outcome of the Monsuno battle was.

Out of all three, Chase was the most nervous. _C'mon Lock…_ he thought. _I know you can win!_ They could barely see due to the bright light in the sky from whatever had happened up high in the atmosphere, but he kept squinting.

Then he heard a startled cry from Charlemagne, and he turned to see both Driftblade and Blackbullet fly back into their cores, _literally_. Backslash and Shadowhornet did the same.

And when Chase looked up, he saw two clouds of essence speeding towards him as well. He barely had any time to get the cores out before they shot in, the recoil almost knocking him down—heck, Charlemagne _had_ been knocked down by the force of it.

"A _draw_?!" Klipse exclaimed, shocked. Chase stared at his cores. _All three of us lost…I guess that's that, then._

* * *

Digby Droog watched the occurrence nonchalantly. "So none were victorious," he said to himself. "How unfortunate."

He adjusted the view so he could see Jeredy Suno. "I apologize for his, Doctor Suno—but I'm afraid I cannot allow Monsunos to keep existing in this world."

Without another word, he stood and turned to a large machine seemingly built from stone. It was the sole Anima of this world, set to slowly absorb small quantities of magic from a parallel world. Ever since he had found it, he had modified it so not only was it reversed, but it would instead remove all Monsuno Essence from this dimension. With finality, he activated it.

* * *

They had just been about to make themselves scarce when the ground suddenly shook. "What was that?" Chase asked. He looked around—all others looked just as confused. Then he saw something that caused him to stare, dumbstruck, for a whole minute.

A stream of transparent green energy began flowing out of the ground and into the sky—and not just that one either, as there were others…all being sucked into some kind of portal that had suddenly appeared. "Th-That's Monsuno Essence!" Jeredy exclaimed.

"_That's_ Monsuno Essence?!" Bren shouted. "But where's it all going?"

"I don't know," Jeredy said. "But what I _do_ know is…someone must have found the Anima."

"Anima? What in blazes is that?" Dax asked.

"The Anima," Beyal started, "Is a magic gate."

"A _magic_ gate, Beyal?" Chase repeated. "Magic doesn't exist."

"Yet it does. The Anima is rejecting all Monsuno Essence from this world, and banishing it to another. There will be no traces of it left anywhere soon."

"Hold on!" Jinja cut in. "_All _Monsuno Essence?! _Our cores_!"

No sooner did she say that did Chase suddenly realize that he wasn't holding Lock or Evo anymore—and he looked up to see that the cores were slowly rising up at the same pace as the Monsuno Essence. He looked, and saw that the same was happening with the STORM cores and Eklipse cores as well.

"C-Commandant, what's going on?" Trey asked shakily.

"Do you zhink I know?!" the blond woman shot back.

"This is impossible!" Klipse shouted. "How can the Monsuno Essence be rejected from this world?!"

And no sooner did he finish the sentence did all controllers present suddenly gain a strange gold-green aura around them.

"W-What's happening?!" Bren asked, nervous-as-heck.

"The Anima is rejecting _all_ Monsuno Essence," Beyal said calmly. "We, as controllers, have a little Monsuno Essence within us. Therefore—"

"We're getting kicked out too!" Chase interjected, eyes wide.

* * *

Throughout the land known as Fiore, many people were going on with their daily lives—when a bright light appeared in the sky. Those who saw it stopped what they were doing immediately, and looked to the sky in a mix of wonder and fear.

The light suddenly split into eight, which flew off into different directions. But the second noticeable thing was the strange green essence that immediately dispersed into the earth…

* * *

"This is peculiar," Emmanuel Klipse murmured to himself as he took in his surroundings. He and Hargrave were now in a mountain range somewhere…on a ledge overlooking a large city that looked important. _I suppose I'll have to start from scratch on my Monsuno research…no matter._

* * *

Charlemagne slowly stood up. To say that she didn't know where she was…well, that'd be an understatement. It looked like she was in some sort of town located on a hilltop, with old-looking buildings.

She also noted that she was alone. First things first—learn where she was, and find her cores. The latter was immediately solved when she saw both on the ground nearby, and she quickly reclaimed them.

* * *

Jeredy Suno hadn't expected the Anima to take him as well. Though he supposed it was just karma getting back at him for discovering Monsuno Essence in the first place. He was in a clearing in a forest somewhere…no one else in sight. _I need to find Chase…_

Then he heard the bushes rustle, and he froze. After a few moments, a young girl who looked about 12 came out, followed by a white cat…who was walking on its hind paws.

* * *

Chase was first aware that he was lying face-first on a stone ground…with all four of his friends on top of him. "Everyone off!" he said, albeit muffled.

They still heard and complied, however. "Chase, where are we?" Bren whimpered.

"I don't know, B…that Anima thing spat us out somewhere—and it's just us!" he replied.

Jinja looked around. "Um, excuse me?" she asked a passerby. "Where are we?"

"Well, you're in Hargeon Town. Are you travelers?"

"Sorta," Chase said, looking around. His eyes immediately found all of their cores on the ground, and the five scrambled to pick them up. _Well, I guess we'll be living in a place like this from now on…better learn what we can._


	2. Chapter I

**_In a land far, far away, lies the kingdom of Fiore. A small, peaceful nation of seventeen-million, and a place filled with magic. Found in every home, bought in every marketplace. For most, magic is a mundane tool, a part of everyday life._**

**_For some, however, magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards, banded together in Guilds, they employ their skills in search of fortune. There are many guilds throughout the kingdom, and there's a certain wizard guild in a certain town…_**

**_A guild from which countless legends were once born—nay, one that will continue to create legends. Its name…is Fairy Tail.  
_**

* * *

"Umm…sir?" an assistant asked.

"Natsu, we made it to Hargeon!" a blue-colored cat standing like a person wearing a green bag on his back exclaimed. "C'mon, get up already!"

"Is he alright?"

"Aye! This always happens when he travels!"

Meanwhile, a young man with spiky-pink hair was lying on the floor of the train. "Never…I'm never riding a stupid train again!" He managed to cover his mouth in time to prevent from barfing.

The blue cat ignored him. "If our information's right, we should find that Salamander guy somewhere in this town—let's go!"

"Just give me a second, would ya!?"

Unfortunately, the _second_ proved to be a second too late. Natsu screamed "Help me!" as the train began moving.

The blue cat stared after for a few moments before saying, "Oh, there he goes."

* * *

Hargeon was certainly a lively little fishing town. Bren was still sore over the fact that the Core-Tablet soon ran out of juice…and apparently this world didn't use electricity. It wasn't like there was any internet, either, so he was moping over that too. They'd also quickly learned that the money in this world was different as well—they had a bit of a hassle buying some food, seeing as they apparently had "foreign currency." Luckily the shopowner had accepted the coins at least, but the dollar bills were pretty much useless. Still, they'd be kept as a reminder.

"This place doesn't seem too bad," Jinja said. "I mean, the air's clean, and so is the ocean. And best of all—we don't have to run away from anyone!"

Chase nodded. _She's right—we probably won't have to worry about Klipse or Charlemagne ever again here…probably. We still have to find my dad, though…and Jon._

A blond girl suddenly pushed by him—she probably hadn't noticed him, seeing as she was ranting to herself about something. "_Urgh_! He only lowered it by 1,000 Jewel! Is that the most my charm's worth?!"

She stopped, and looked down the bridge they were standing on. Curious, those of Core-Tech looked as well.

Two girls ran by suddenly. "The famous wizard is here!" one exclaimed.

Another shouted, "It's Mr. Salamander!"

"_Salamander_?" Dax repeated. "What kind of name is that?"

The blond girl apparently knew who he was, for she suddenly ran after them. "Uh…should we go see?" Bren asked.

Chase shrugged in response.

* * *

"Man…I wound up riding the train twice…" Natsu muttered.

"You're no good when it comes to riding things," his friend, Happy, added.

"Not to mention I'm hungry…"

"_And_ we don't have any money."

"Hey Happy. This Salamander _has_ to be Igneel, right?"

"Aye! Igneel is the only fire dragon I can think of."

"Yeah…huh?" There was some sort of commotion going on ahead. And Natsu clearly heard the word "Salamander." He immediately broke into a run. "See! Speak of the devil!"

"Aye!"

* * *

The so-called Salamander was a man wearing a purple cloak with a gold trim over a white shirt, and black pants. He also had a strange mark over his right eye. Chase had zero idea why every single girl present was drooling over him—and to his utmost surprise, Jinja was staring a bit too. He immediately felt a flame of jealousy for some reason…

Then a voice exclaimed, "Igneel!" A guy who looked a bit older than Chase shoved through the crowd. He had spiky _pink_ hair, was wearing a black waistcoat with gold trims, though he didn't have a shirt on. He was also wearing white knee-length trousers, and black open-toed sandals. "Who are you?" he asked, startling the guy.

"Would the name _Salamander _ring a bell?" Salamander said.

But—big surprise, as the pink-haired guy was suddenly walking away. He was then viciously attacked by three random girls. Meanwhile, Jinja shook her head as if to clear it of some fog.

"Now, now," Salamander said. "That's enough. He didn't mean anything by it." He went over to the pink-haired guy. "Here's my autograph. Feel free to brag to your friends."

"No thanks," the guy replied…and was immediately thrown against a wall, again by some random girls.

Then Chase suddenly noticed the small blue cat standing there, who _said_, "It wasn't him after all."

"Well, I have business at the port, so I must be off," Salamander said. He snapped his fingers, saying "_**Red Carpet**_!" As he did, a strange dark-red circle of some sort appeared mid-air, with intricate designs in it. And before they knew it, he was suddenly standing on _purple fire_ _mid-air_! "I'm having a party on my boat tonight. You're all invited!" With that, he zoomed off on his fire-carpet or whatever.

"Whoa!" Dax exclaimed. "How'd he do that?"

"Magic," a voice said. They turned to see the blond girl. "Don't you guys know?"

"Uh…we're new around here…" Chase said lamely.

The girl frowned a bit. "Okay then…I can explain it to you later—wanna come for some food?"

"Yes please!" Bren said immediately.

She nodded before turning to look at the pink-haired guy. "Thanks!"

* * *

"I'm Lucy. It's nice to meet you all!"

Chase introduced himself in turn, before glancing a bit to the side. Natsu, as the pink-haired guy was named, was busy stuffing his face. He ate faster than Bren did!

"Can you guys slow down a bit?" Jinja said, looking a bit annoyed. "Stuff is flying everywhere—you're worse than Bren!"

"Hey!" said teen complained.

"So that Salamander guy was using a Charm spell," Lucy said. "It can attract people to you, even against their will. Sale of it was banned years ago, though."

"No wonder my head felt all weird," Jinja muttered, looking venomous. "I'll teach that guy a lesson. What a creep!"

Lucy spoke up again. "But I broke free of the spell, thanks to you barging in!" Half to Jinja, she added, "Both of us did, I think. So this is my thanks!"

"I see," Natsu said between bites.

"Believe it or not, I'm actually a wizard myself!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"I haven't joined a guild yet, though…"

"Huh?" Bren said.

"Right, you're new here…Guilds are places where wizards gather to share information and find work. You can't be considered a full-fledged wizard unless you're in a guild. There are lots of guilds all over the world, and it's apparently really tough getting into the popular ones! The one _I _want to join is filled with amazing wizards!" Lucy was on a full-fledged rant now. "I want to join it, but I bet it'll be tough!"

"Uhh…" Chase didn't want to sound rude, but he seriously had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh, sorry! This wizarding talk must sound like nonsense to you, huh? But I'm definitely going to join that guild—I bet I can find lots of big jobs there!"

"Yeah?" Natsu said in half-attention.

"You talk a lot," the talking blue cat—Happy—commented.

Chase remembered something. "Hey, Natsu? It sounded like you were looking for someone back there."

"Aye! Igneel!" Happy said.

"We're here 'cause we heard a Salamander was coming to this town," Natsu explained. "But it was someone else."

"Yeah, he didn't look like a Salamander at all."

"A Salamander's a fire dragon, so we thought he'd be Igneel."

"What would a fire dragon be doing in a town?" Beyal asked.

"And what kind of person looks like a dragon?" Dax put in.

Natsu looked at him blankly before saying, "He's not a person. Igneel _is_ a dragon."

"_Huh_?" Core-Tech plus Lucy exclaimed.

"Aye! He's an actual dragon!" Happy said.

* * *

**_Even in this world of magic, dragons are very rare creatures that are hardly ever seen._**

* * *

"Like snowball there said…_why would there be a dragon in the middle of town?!_" Lucy shrieked.

Natsu and Happy both looked like they just realized something—namley, the fact she just said. Her eye twitched. "You just realized that, didn't you. Well, I should be going. Enjoy your food."

As Lucy was leaving, however, both Natsu and Happy apparently found it appropriate to bow on the floor to her, thanking her for the meal.

"Stop it! You're embarrassing me! It's okay—you helped me, so now we're even!"

"Guys?" Chase said. "We should probably get moving too…"

"Oh fine," Bren muttered, standing.

Lucy seemed to notice something. "Hey…what are those blue things you have?"

Chase froze, and followed her gaze—she saw his four cores. "Oh, these? Uh…they're just—um…"

She looked suspicious. "You sure you're not wizards too?"

The raven-haired teen took a deep breath and sighed. "Ugh…I'll explain. Can we go somewhere more private?"

* * *

"So…you're saying you guys came from a different dimension?" Lucy summed up.

"Uh-huh," Jinja said. "Not by choice…"

They were in the town's park, sitting on the benches. Lucy glanced at her magazine. "Sheesh. Fairy Tail caused trouble again?" Aloud, she read, "'Devon Bandit Clan Wiped Out, Seven Homes Destroyed'?"

Bren whistled at seeing some pictures. "Talk about going overboard!"

"I know!" Lucy turned a page. "Oh, Mirajane is the glamour model this time!" Said person was a young woman with white hair and blue eyes. Likely to herself, Lucy mused, "How _do _you get into Fairy Tail, anyway?"

"I take it that's the guild you're trying to join?" Jinja asked.

"Uh-huh. The Fairy Tail wizard guild…it's so absolutely cool!"

Then a familiar voice said, "Trying to join Fairy Tali?" And out of the bushes popped none other than Salamander. "I've been looking for you two girls. I wanted to personally invite you to the part on my boat tonight."

"Your Charm spell won't work on us!" Lucy said. "Its weakness is awareness—it doesn't work on people who are aware of it!"

Salamander was unfazed. "I knew from the moment I saw you that you both were wizards. Though I can't say I've seen Item-type magic of that sort…" He gestured to Jinja's two cores. "No matter. Just come to my party. I suppose your other friends can come."

"Yeah, right!" Jinja huffed. "Like I'd ever go to some creep's party!"

"Creep?" Salamander repeated.

"Your…Charm spell. You'd go that far to be popular?"

"It's only a formality. I just want to feel like a celebrity during the party."

"For a so-called famous wizard, you really are stupid," Lucy said.

"If I'm right, you're the one who wants to join Fairy Tail? Surely you've heard of the _Salamander_ in Fairy Tail."  
"I have—wait, _you're _part of Fairy Tail?!"

"Yes I am. If you want to join, I can put in a good word with our master."

Lucy very suddenly switched positions. "It sounds like it'll be a really nice party! So can you really get me into Fairy Tail?!"

"But of course. In return, don't say anything about the Charm spell."

"Sure! No problem!"

"All right! See you at the party!"

As soon as Salamander was gone, Lucy said, "I was pseudo-Charmed!"

_That was an act…?_ Jinja thought.

"But—I'm gonna get into Fairy Tail! I just gotta be nice to that idiot until then!" She paused, and turned to look at them. "What about you guys? You wanna come?"

Jinja looked at Chase—he was the leader after all. "I don't trust that guy," her friend said. "At the same time…this 'Fairy Tail' place sounds like fun." He nodded. "Yeah, we'll come!"


	3. Chapter II

**To the person who reviewed: unfortunately I have not seen the latest arc yet. ~Myra  
**

* * *

"That was some good food!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. The blue cat noticed something. "Say, is that the ship where that Salamander is having his party?" Natsu looked, and immediately looked like he'd be sick. "Stop feeling nauseous just from the thought of it."

"Look! That's Mr. Salamander's boat!" They both looked to see three girls.

"I wish I could've gone…" the second one said.

"I heard he's a member of Fairy Tail!" the third one added.

Both Natsu and Happy looked up. _Fairy Tail…?_

* * *

"Lucy, you say? That's a nice name. And Jinja—very exotic, never heard it before."

"Um, thanks."

"Now, how about a toast?" Salamander said.

Jinja reached for one glass—but Lucy stopped her. "There's Sleep Magic affecting that!" she said. Salamander's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm impressed."

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but we both want to be part of Fairy Tail, but neither of us are your girl!"

"You're a tough one."

Now Jinja was getting worried. She looked over—and saw everyone else present were unconscious, and now there were thug-looking guys. "What's going on here?!"

"Welcome to my ship," Salamander said. "You both will behave yourselves until we reach Bosco…girls."

"Bosco?!" Lucy repeated. "Hold on! What about Fairy Tail?!"

"Forget about it. You're our merchandise now."

"Why you—!" Lucy took out what looked like a key-ring that had an assortment of gold and silver keys on it. But before she could do anything else, that strange dark-red circle—a Magic Circle—appeared, and violet flames grabbed the key-ring, bringing it to Salamander.

"Gatekeys…a celestial wizard, huh? Only contract holders can use this magic, meaning they're useless to me." He threw them out the window, and they landed in the ocean with a splash. "About those four boys we have," he added. "Once we're further out to sea, throw them overboard. They're no use to me either."

Jinja's eyes widened slightly, and she placed a hand on Whipper's core. _That does it!_ She grabbed the core, and exclaimed, "Whipper, launch!"

The weird part was, however…as soon as her hand came into contact with the core, a small, yellow Magic Circle appeared for a few moments. The core zipped across the deck, the thugs moving out of the way…and the core collided with the wall in a flash of bright blue. Thankfully Whipper was one of the smaller Monsunos, even though there was plenty of room in the large boat. "Wh-What the hell is that thing?!" one of the thugs exclaimed.

Salamander looked startled for a few second, before lashing out at the Monsuno with a whip of purple flames.

"Deflector Frill!" Jinja quickly said. Her Monsuno complied, and the attack bounced back at Salamander—

Right as the ceiling suddenly got a hole in it, allowing someone to drop down through. Namely, Natsu. Who suddenly looked seasick. _Oh great._

"What're you guys doing here?" Happy asked from above.

Jinja noted he had _wings_ suddenly. "Happy!" Lucy exclaimed. "I was tricked! He said he'd get me into Fairy Tail!" A pause. "Wait, you have wings?!"

"We can talk later!" He swooped down, and picked Lucy up with his tail. _Yikes…strong cat._

"After them!" Salamander ordered. "We can't let 'em report us to the council!"

* * *

"Wait! What about Natsu, Jinja, and the others?!"

"I can't carry two people!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Salamander shouted. "**Prominence Whip**!" Multiple rays of violet fire shot out at them, but Happy managed to avoid all—while Lucy was being shaken around like a ragdoll. "Damn that nimble cat!"

"Hey! Forgetting something?"

Salamander and his thugs turned to see Jinja, Natsu, and Whipper standing there.

* * *

"We have to go back and save the others!" Lucy shouted.

"Listen, Lucy!"

"What?! This isn't a good time!"

Suddenly Happy's wings vanished. "My transformation's up."

They both plummeted like stones, while Lucy shouted, "_You dumb cat_!"

"_Aye!_"

However, when she hit the water, Lucy saw something that would turn the tide, literally.

_My Gatekeys!_

* * *

"Nothing we can do," Salamander muttered as his thugs barely managed to apprehend Jinja—weirdly, as soon as she had been knocked down, Whipper had returned to its core. "Let's hurry to Bosco for now."

"Fairy Tail…" Natsu said quietly, but still loud enough for them to hear. "You're from Fairy Tail?" he asked.

* * *

Lucy surfaced at the same time as Happy. "Here goes!" the former said, unclipping one of her gold keys. "**Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!**" A turquoise Magic Circle appeared on the water's surface as the Celestial Spirit appeared.

"A fish!" Happy exclaimed.

"No," Lucy said instantly.

"That was amazing!" Happy regarded the mermaid-like spirit in wonder.

"I _am_ a celestial wizard! I can use Gatekeys to summon Celestial Spirits from another world!" To the spirit, she said, "Aquarius! Use your power to push that ship back to the port!" She flinched slightly when the spirit glared at her. "Hey! I didn't summon you to give me attitude!"

"Heed this, annoying child," Aquarius said. "Drop my key again and I'll kill you."

"We're sorry!" both Lucy and Happy exclaimed.

Aquarius proceeded to draw a large amount of seawater into her urn, before unleashing it in a huge tidal wave—her Giant Wave Attack.

Said attack sent the boat all the way back to port…and onto solid ground. Unfortunately Lucy and Happy were also caught up in the attack.

"What were you thinking?!" Lucy growled. "Why did you sweep me with it?!"

Aquarius's response was curt. "Whoops. I accidentally swept the ship up, too."

"You were aiming for _me_?!"

"Don't call me for a while. I'm going on a week-long trip with my boyfriend." She vanished in blue sparkles.

"Hey Lucy!" Happy said after he got his head un-stuck from the ground. "I think when we apologized earlier…we didn't really have to!"

Lucy facepalmed. _I don't even know where to start with this dumb cat…_

* * *

Meanwhile, Chase and the other three boys sat up. "What the krag just happened?" he asked, rubbing his head. "Why…is the ship on the sand? And so far from the water?!"

"Natsu!" he heard Lucy shout. _Wha'…when did Natsu get here?_ He looked up to see said guy standing on top of the boat.

"_You're_ a Fairy Tail wizard?" he said, directing it at Salamander.

"Yeah, so what?!" Salamander shot back. "Get 'im, men!"

"Right!" his thugs replied—Chase didn't remember _them_ being there!

"Let me get a closer look at you," Natsu said, reaching to take his red jacket off, even as Salamander's thugs were running at him.

"Natsu, get out of there!" Jinja shouted.

"Don't worry!" Chase heard Happy say. "We should've mentioned it earlier, but Natsu's a wizard too!"

"Huh?!" they exclaimed.

Chase looked up just in time to see Natsu mercilessly beat the thugs aside. "I'm Natsu of Fairy Tail!" he said. "And I've never seen you before in my life!" _Natsu's from Fairy Tail?!_

And now that Chase looked, he saw a red tattoo-like symbol stamped on his shoulder.

"Th-That emblem!" one of the thugs exclaimed. "He's the real deal, Bora!"

"You fool! Don't call me by that name!"

"Bora…Bora the Prominence," Happy growled. "He was kicked out of the Titan Nose wizard guild years ago."

"I don't care if you're a good guy or a bad guy…" Natsu said, walking forward. "But I won't let you tarnish Fairy Tail's name!"

"And what are _you_ gonna do about it, kid?!" Bora demanded. "**Prominence Typhoon**!" His Magic Circle appeared, and a firestorm's worth of violet flames shot at Natsu…

Direct hit.

He heard Bora snort. "The bigger the talk, the weaker the man." As he turned to walk away, they suddenly heard Natsu's voice.

"This tastes horrible!" They all looked up again, and Chase clearly saw Natsu's silhouette in the fire—he was doing _something_…

His eyes widened. _Holy krag! Is he doing what I think he's doing?!_ "Are you _really_ a fire wizard?" Natsu went on. His next words confirmed Chase's thoughts: "This is the worst fire I've ever tasted!"

As they watched, the last of the fire vanished into his mouth. "Wh-Wh-Who is this guy?!" one of the thugs shouted.

"Fire won't work on Natsu," Happy said with a creepy look on his face.

"I've never seen magic like that before!" Lucy exclaimed.

Chase stared, wide-eyed. _That'd throw dad for a loop, big-time! _

"Now that I've eaten, I feel re-energized!" Natsu said. He smacked his fists together, and crouched slightly. "_Here goes_! **Fire Dragon Roar**!" He then proceeded to _BREATHE FIRE_. It resulted in a giant explosion—thankfully Chase, Bren, Beyal, and Dax had managed to scramble away from the ship in time.

"B-Bora! I've seen this guy before!" one of the thugs said. "That pink hair and scaly-looking scarf—no doubt about it!" Chase realized what he was going to say. "He's the _real_…"

"Salamander!" all of them finished in unison.

"Pay attention, now! _This_ is what Fairy Tail wizards are like!" Natsu said as both his fists caught fire on their own—magic, Chase now knew.

As he lunged at Bora, Chase heard Lucy say quietly, "He eats fire and punches with fire…is this really magic?!"

Happy had the explanation. "Dragon lungs for breathing fire, dragon scales for dissolving fire, and dragon claws for fighting with fire…it's an ancient spell that lets his body take on the qualities of a dragon."

"Is that possible?" Bren exclaimed.

"It was originally used for taking down dragons." As the battle was going on, Bora used an attack which caused a whole section of town to blow up. "It's Dragon Slayer magic. Igneel taught it to him."

Bora threw a huge orb of purple fire down at Natsu, who caught it and promptly ate it. "Now that was a hefty meal!" he said. "Now I'm gonna cook you like a smoked fish!"

"You're gonna do _what_ to me?!" Bora shrieked.

Natsu brought his fists together again. "Say goodbye! **Fire Dragon Iron Fist**!" And as Natsu lunged at Bora, Chase could have sworn he saw an illusion of a dragon.

Bora was mercilessly punched in the face, and he was sent flying all the way right into a bell, which gonged loudly. "_Youch_!" Dax commented with a whistle.

"Natsu, you don't use fire to smoke food! You use smoke," Happy chided.

"Whoa…that was…" Jinja started. Then she said, "Overboard!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Oh, shut up cat!"

They all turned when they heard the sound of people marching wearing armor. "The army?!" Lucy exclaimed, sounding a bit scared.

Suddenly she and Jinja were both grabbed by Natsu, and somehow the four boys wound up getting dragged along as well. "Crap we gotta get out of here!" Natsu shouted.

"W-Why are you bringing us?!" Bren shouted.

"You guys wanna join our guild, don't you?!" They all stared at him in shock, even as he grinned. "So let's go!"

"_Okay_!" Lucy shouted at the same time as Core-Tech.

* * *

**_And this is only the start of the story…  
_**


	4. Chapter III

**_This is the Magic Council._**

"Those idiots from Fairy Tail have gone and done it again!" one of the councilmembers exclaimed, annoyed. "This time they destroyed an entire port!"

"What is the _matter_ with them?" another said.

"I'm actually quite fond of those dimwits," a third one, a man with blue hair and an odd tattoo around the side of his right eye, said.

"Hmm…we mustn't forget—they may act like fools, but they are an extremely capable lot."

"Yes, that's true—I think we should leave them be."

The blue-haired man spoke up again. "After all, if it wasn't for those fools…think how boring this world would be."

"And!" the first one spoke up. "There is the matter of two nights before…that green light in the sky. We must launch an investigation."

* * *

Natsu had brought them all the way to a town called Magnolia, and they were now standing in front of a building with a sign above it saying "Fairy Tail," having two decorations that looked like fairies on the side. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy announced.

Natsu kicked the door open, shouting, "_We made it back alive!_" There were a ton of people inside, who all greeted Natsu warmly.

"So I hear you went all-out in Hargeon, Natsu," a buck-toothed guy said. "So how much damage did"—and then Natsu kicked him square in the face, sending him into a wall.  
"Why did you do that?!" Lucy asked simultaneously with Bren.

"You lied about that Salamander guy—I'm gonna kick your butt!"

"Don't yell at me! I was only passing along some rumors I heard!"

"_What_?!"

"You wanna fight?!"

"Let's go!"

All five of Core-Tech had to duck as the buck-toothed guy—and a few others—got smashed into the wall. "Now-now Natsu," Happy said, waving a paw. "I think you need to calm do—WAAH!" He was very suddenly sent flying across a table like a ping-pong ball, crashing into glasses comically.

Within a few moments the calm scene had been transformed into an all-out brawl. "Hah! I like this place already!" Dax exclaimed.

Bren, meanwhile, was hiding behind Jinja, who said, "Oh way to go Bren. Use me as a shield again, will ya?" Beyal blinked a few times rapidly, while Chase felt one eye twitching a bit.

Lucy, meanwhile, was miraculously unfazed. "Wow! We're actually standing inside the Fairy Tail guild hall!"

"So Natsu finally made it back, _HUH_?" a guy with spiky-black hair a shade darker than Chase's said. But the noticeable thing about him was…he was only in black boxers at that particular moment.

**_This is Gray Fullbuster. A very talented wizard, but he tends to—well, he has a bad habit of…taking his clothes off subconsciously._**

"It's time we settle things once and for all!" Gray went on.

"Gray, your clothes," a lady sitting at a bar said. She had brown-black hair, was wearing a short light-blue shirt, and calf-length brown pants.

"I don't have time for that!" Gray shouted.

**_This young lady is Cana Alberona. She holds the title of Fairy Tail's Heaviest Drinker._**

"See, this is why I don't dig the men here," she said with a sigh. "They have no class." She then proceeded to drink something that smelled alcoholic from a large barrel, actually picking it up!

"Come here and fight me Natsu!" Gray challenged.

"Not until you put some clothes on!" Natsu shouted back.

And then another new guy appeared on the scene. "It's only noon and you boys are whining like spoiled babies!" It was a strong-looking tall guy with spiky white hair.

**_This brute of a man is Elfman. A muscular wizard who believes that all you need to solve a problem are two strong fists._**

Natsu and Gray promptly turned around and punched Elfman in the face. Chase was seriously starting to reconsider his thoughts.

"Geez, it's noisy around here isn't it?" a voice said behind them. They turned to see another guy with spiky orange hair wearing blue-tinted sunglasses.

**_This is the ladykiller, Loke. Ranked high on the "Wizards' Most-Eligible Bachelors" list._**

At that moment a can hit the guy in the forehead. "Are you alright?" a girl who was with him asked.

"I'm gonna go fight—but only to protect you two!"

"Well, he's definitely off my list," Lucy muttered.

"Same here," Jinja agreed. _Wait what?_

Chase shook his head. _What the krag is wrong with these people? It looks like there's not one sane person in the whole place!_

"Hello! Are you all new here?" This time the voice was feminine. They turned—and froze.

Standing there was a young woman with long white hair that curled slightly, wearing a maroon dress.

_Isn't that Mirajane…?_ One, he recognized her from the magazine Lucy had. Two…well, she really was pretty!

**_This is Mirajane. A beautiful wizard known for her photo shoots featured in Sorcerer Weekly Magazine. She is currently an employee at Fairy Tail._**

"Um…shouldn't we try to stop them or something?" Jinja asked.

"It's always like this around here. I'd just leave them alone." She turned toward them, smiling. "Besides, it's kinda fun—"

She was promptly slammed into by Elfman, unconscious. Lucy shrieked. "Don't die Mirajane!" She tried to revive her.

Wisely, Chase stepped back—just in time to avoid Gray being sent flying. Instead, Dax was hit, along with Bren.

"Ugh…so much for having a drink to relax," Cana muttered, turning. She took a card of some sort out of her pocket, which flashed—and a light-green Magic Circle appeared. "That's enough guys. I suggest you knock it off."

"Oh yeah? Says who?" Gray said after getting up, an ice-blue Magic Circle forming at his hands, creating a chill in the air. Definitely ice-related.

A violet Magic Circle appeared over Elfman's right arm, which suddenly looked like it was made of rock.

Both of Natsu's fists lit on fire. "I'm ready for all of ya!" he said.

Dax muttered, "That does it," and took Boost's core out.

"Do they always fight like this?" Lucy asked.

"Uh-huh," Happy said like it was no problem.

"You do not seem worried," Beyal noted, sounding slightly worried himself.

And then something _giant_ appeared suddenly. It resembled a black, humanoid shadow. "That's enough, you fools!" he boomed.

Bren, of course, screamed at the top of his lungs, while the other four simply gaped. Everyone else stopped fighting so fast it was comical. "Oh, you're still here, Master?" Mirajane asked.

"Yeah," the shadow-giant replied.

"Master?!" Lucy repeated.

Natsu, meanwhile, laughed. "What a bunch of wimps you are! Looks like I win this—"

He was promptly squashed by "Master." Said guy then noticed them. "Well, seems we have some new recruits."

"Yes sir!" Lucy replied shrilly and fearfully.

"Master" started glowing bright yellow, and as they all watched, he rapidly decreased in size, colors becoming visible…until he was no more than an old man who was by far the shortest person they'd ever seen. "Nice to meet ya!" he greeted.

"He's a pipsqueak!" Dax exclaimed. "You sure that guy's the ringleader?"

"Of course he is!" Mirajane replied. "Allow me to introduce the Fairy Tail Guild Master, Makarov!" Said man then did a super-jump up to a railing—although he hit his head—and managed to land on top. He cleared his throat, and everyone looked up.

"You guys have gone and done it again!" he said loudly, and held up a stack of papers. "Just look at how much paperwork the council sent me this time! And it's all complaints!"

**_The council is the organization that holds together all wizard guilds. _**

"All you guys ever do is get the council angry with me!" Makarov went on. Everyone was dead silent. "However…" The five of Core-Tech looked up just in time to see Makarov light the paperwork on fire with magic. "To hell with the council!" He threw the flames, and Natsu promptly ate them. Lucy, Chase, and the others all stared in surprise. "Listen up! Power that surpasses reason is still born from reason. Magic is not a miraculous power—it is only realized when the flow of energy inside us and the flow of energy in the natural world come into perfect sync! Magic comes from mental strength and focus—nay, it comes from your entire soul! Worry about the eyes watching from high above and you will make no progress in the ways of magic! Don't let the fools on the council scare you—follow the path you believe in! That's why we Fairy Tail wizards are number one!" He made said hand-sign in the air, and everyone else cheered, doing the same—apparently it was a guild thing.

* * *

"There! Now you're all members of Fairy Tail!" Mirajane announced happily. Chase studied his bright-blue guild-mark that was located on the back of his left hand. Lucy, meanwhile, had gone off to show off said fact to Natsu—who didn't pay any attention. Instead he was looking at some kind of board.

One thing that had him puzzled—when Mirajane had asked them for their names, she had frozen up when she heard Beyal. She had said it was nothing when said white-haired boy asked about it.

**_This is the Request Board. The wizards can choose to take any job they want from the requests posted here._**

"Choose a good one please!" Happy said.

"Oh! 160,000 Jewel for getting rid of some thieves in Juniper Town!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Then it's decided!" Happy said.

Then a young boy's voice cut in: "Is my dad still not back yet?"

"You're getting on my nerves Romeo," Makarov said. "If you're a wizard's son, have faith in your father and wait patiently at home!"

"He said he'd be gone three days, and it's been a week now!"

"If I recall, it was a job on Mt. Hakobe…"

"That is _that _far away!" the kid—Romeo—exclaimed. "Go look for him!"

"Your old man's a wizard! There's no wizard in this guild who can't take care of himself! Go home and have some milk or something!"  
Romeo twitched a few times—and then punched Makarov in the face, shouting, "Stupidhead!"

Dax chuckled a bit. "Reminds me of you, Princess." He was promptly smacked hard by the ginger-haired girl.

"That was harsh," Lucy said quietly as Romeo ran out of the building.

"Despite what he said, the Master is really worried," Mirajane said.

Chase was unprepared for Natsu to suddenly give him the job on taking care of the thieves and start out of the building.

"I don't know about this Master," another guild member, Nab Lasaro, muttered. "Natsu's gonna try to save Macao."

"He's such a kid," the buck-toothed guy—named Krov—commented.

"He's just gonna end up hurting Macao's pride," Nab went on.

"No one is allowed to choose the path others take," Makarov stated. "Let him be."

"What happened to this Macao guy, anyways?" Jinja asked.

"Romeo's in the same boat as Natsu," Mirajane explained. "I guess he sees part of himself in him. All us Fairy Tail wizards have our own issues of some sort. Whether its pain, scars, or suffering…for instance, Natsu's father vanished." This made Chase look up. "Well, technically he was only his foster father. And a dragon." Mirajane smiled at that.

"Already aware of that," Bren muttered.

"So Natsu was raised by a dragon?!" Lucy exclaimed.

Mirajane nodded. "When Natsu was little, the dragon found him wandering in the forest, and took him in, and taught him all about language, culture, and magic. But…one day, the dragon suddenly disappeared."  
_That must be Igneel, then._ Chase was silent for a few moments. Then he said, "C'mon guys. This job is out in Juniper Town."

* * *

As they were making their way through town towards the train station, Bren brought another matter up. "Uh, Chase? Where're we supposed to stay?"

He paused. "Good question." Jinja facepalmed at the same time as Dax's groan. "Well, we'll probably end up finding an apartment to rent out or something—that's what Lucy's gonna do. So we'll need to work up some money for a rent. Sound like a plan?"

"I guess," Jinja said with a shrug.

Of course Chase overheard plenty of conversations as they were going through the city. Such as:

"Did you hear about Phantom Lord's new member?"

"Yeah…she uses the weirdest magic I've ever seen!"

Chase froze. _Weird magic? Weird _how_? _Maybe it was another controller.

"What was her name again…?"

"Don't ask me, I'll definitely say it wrong."

"Well, I'm hearing everyone in the guild calling her Charle, so…"

All of Core-Tech exchanged looks. It could only be one person. _Charle…Charlemagne!_


	5. Chapter IV

Unfortunately Juniper Town was a very out-of-the-way town, located in the center of a forest, so walking would be a pain. And would take about three days to get there.

So they settled for using their Monsunos, like old times—it'd still take a day to get there. Though one thing that had them all confounded was that when Chase spun Evo out, a light-blue Magic Circle had appeared as soon as his hand came into contact with the core. And a green one for Bren when he spun out Quickforce.

It was silence for a while. Then Beyal suddenly said, "It has been longer than eight minutes."

The others all stiffened, preparing to fall and faceplant into dirt…but nothing happened. Their Monsunos kept flying, perfectly fine.

"Um…am I the only one not understanding this?" Bren asked.

"You're not the only one Glasses," Dax replied.

"Beyal?" Jinja said. "Do you have any ideas?"

The white-haired teen replied immediately. "Perhaps when we came to this world, our Monsunos were altered to better suit it."

"Yeah…I think I get it," Chase said. "Jinja, didn't you say that when you got taken out in Hargeon, Whipper just went right back into its core, even though it didn't get hurt?" She nodded in reply.

Chase shook his head a bit. _Guess our Monsunos got a bit screwed-up when we came here. At least there's no more 8-minute thing…we'll have to see how long they can stay out._

* * *

The sun was starting to set by the time they got to Juniper Town. "Man, I'm beat," Bren muttered, calling Quickforce back into its core.

"Same here," Chase agreed, wearily calling Evo into its core as well. He had no idea why, but he felt totally drained.

Suddenly Beyal looked up. "I think I know what has replaced the time limit."

They looked up. "What is it?" Jinja asked.

"If I am correct, the Monsunos now draw on their controllers' energy."

Chase blinked a few times, processing it. Then he smirked a bit. "Alright, so two at once would be a bad idea."

"A very bad idea."

"Can we find something to eat?" Bren asked randomly. "Then we can do the mission tomorrow?" Chase agreed immediately, and since he was the leader…well, that was that.

* * *

Early next morning, after getting some breakfast, they ventured into town. Juniper was a small town, reminding Chase of the town of Lycia on the edge of the Lowlands…

The area was also a bit arid, so Chase and Dax had both taken their jackets off for the moment. Beyal had also removed his cloak. Dax's orange-colored guild-mark stuck out majorly on his shoulder. Chase not only knew this from seeing the townsfolk's reactions.

"Never seen them before," one person muttered.

"Hope they aren't as destructive…"

"Think they'll get rid of the Wyvern Gang?"

Chase looked at the last person who had spoken. "I take it the 'Wyvern Gang' are the thieves we're supposed to take care of?"

She nodded. "Their base is an abandoned warehouse by the river. Be careful—their leader, Zane, uses powerful fire magic."

"Thanks for the warning."

* * *

The warehouse was a bit out of town, which would be helpful. Chase decided to get it over with bluntly, so they simply strolled in.

The fifteen occupants all looked at them. One, a man with black hair and dark eyes, snorted. "Go home kiddies. This ain't a playground."

One of the other thugs noticed something, and exclaimed, "Zane, they're from Fairy Tail! Look at that guy's mark!"

Zane glared. "I take it you punks think you can take us down?"

"That's the idea," Chase replied with a smirk.

Now the leader smirked as well. "I'd like to see you try!" A bright-red Magic Circle appeared, and a wave of fire shot at them. They scrambled out of the way.

Dax took the challenge. "Boost, launch!" Chase noted the orange Magic Circle that appeared briefly as the core was sent spinning.

The wolf-cougar Monsuno appeared with a roar. "Wh-What the hell?!" one thug exclaimed.

"What kind of magic is that?" another asked.

"It's called _Monsuno_, get it?" Chase said, grinning and spinning out Lock.

Honestly, the fight wasn't that long. Especially with how Zane ditched his gang.

* * *

"Well, that was pathetic," Jinja noted after they got their reward. "At least we got sixteen-thousand Jewels for it."

"Yeah. We should be able to find an apartment back in Magnolia now," Chase said. Of course they'd spent some on new clothes and equipment and such, as well as selling things that they didn't need. Bren refused to part with the Core-Tablet, however.

"Bren, it's worthless here," Jinja reasoned. "I don't think electricity exists here, even!"

"Still!" he shot back.

"Cut it out guys," Chase intervened. "Let's just get moving."

* * *

"Hey, there are Natsu and Lucy down there," Jinja said, pointing. Sure enough, the Fire Dragon Slayer and Celestial Wizard were traveling on a mountain road.

"Chase, can't we go with them?" Bren asked.

He considered it. "Well, it'll take a bit longer to get home, but…I guess." Evo and Vileblaze both banked down, landing in front of the two. "Hey guys!" Chase greeted.

"Whoa!" their and Happy's response. As soon as Chase and Dax called their Monsunos back, Lucy asked, "They're transportation, too?"

"Yeah. Well, sorta."

"They are also companions," Beyal put in thoughtfully.

"Okay then…did you guys get those thieves?"

"Yup. And I thought you were on a mission on Mt. Hakobe?" Jinja asked.

"We did that yesterday!" Natsu exclaimed.

"We'll tell you a bit later," Lucy said. "C'mon."

* * *

The story was that they had to deal with a guy called "Duke Everlue" who had been in complete control of Shirotsume Town. In the meantime they had also resolved a family issue for someone.

Natsu's next idea for the next morning was to take a shortcut through a swam. "Hold on. Are you sure this is the right way? …she asks," one of Lucy's Celestial Spirits, Horologium, recited.

Natsu replied in a similar way. "Happy says to go this way, so we go this way…I say."

"How rude! I _am _a cat, you know!" Happy burst. "Cats have a great sense of smell!"

"You're thinking of dogs. What does smell have to do with pathfinding anyway? …she asks."

"Why can't you walk on your own?" Dax asked.

"I'm tired, she says."

Natsu and Dax groaned in unison—and the bushes rustled. Natsu immediately jumped toward it in an attack posture. "Who's there?!"

"Natsu!" Jinja exclaimed. "Why'd you do that?"

"Get 'im Natsu!" Happy cheered.

Natsu and the other person—actually _Gray_, in only his underwear—jumped out of the undergrowth. "Why is he in his underwear?! …she asks," Horologium recited.

"I was trying to find a place to use the bathroom!" Gray shouted.

"Why did you strip down before you found it?!" Natsu shouted back. "Why would there be a bathroom in the middle of the forest anyway?!"

"_You _should butt out when people are trying to use the bathroom."

"That is a very petty thing to argue over," Beyal said.

And as if to mimic Horologium, Happy added, "…he says."

* * *

"So you're coming back from a job?" Chase asked.

"Cutting through this forest is the quickest way back to Magnolia," Gray explained.

"See!" Happy exclaimed.

"You bragged about your nose, but you couldn't even smell Gray out here," Lucy said.

"There are some odors I don't want to smell."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Gray growled.

"You're annoying. Just hurry on home," Natsu said, putting his arms behind his head.

"I was planning to. We're in big trouble if we don't hurry back."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"Did we miss something?" Bren asked.

"Erza's going to be back soon," Gray said quietly.

Natsu suddenly looked terrified, while Lucy exclaimed, "You mean _the _Erza?!"

"They say she's the toughest wizard in Fairy Tail," Happy put in.  
Dax snorted. "A girl's the toughest you got?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucy growled simultaneously with Jinja.

"She sounds cool," Chase said with a nod.

Lucy frowned. "I've never seen any photos of Erza in the magazines at all…what's she like?"

"Scary," Natsu and Gray replied simultaneously.

"Huh?" Team Core-Tech plus Lucy asked.

"A wild animal?" (Gray)

"A beast?" (Natsu)

"More like a full-fledged monster!" (Happy)

"In terms of scariness…she's the scariest," Gray said. "I'd say she could demolish three mountains with one kick…!"

"Three is an exaggeration," Happy said. "I'd say two."

"A woman who can destroy two mountains with a single kick?" Lucy deadpanned. "She might be scary…"

"_Might_?!" Bren repeated.

"I'm starting to rethink what I said," Chase put in a bit nervously.

"I'd love to see her up against whip-lady," Jinja whispered to Dax, who grinned at the thought of it.

"Anyway, we gotta hurry back," Gray said.

"Crap! Let's go!" Natsu yelled, standing up suddenly. Then something exploded.

Chase coughed out some sand. "What the krag was that?!" he asked.

"A wizard, perhaps?" Beyal asked calmly.

"Happy!" Natsu exclaimed, sand pouring out of his mouth comically.

"Aye…" Said blue cat was tied to a stick over what looked like would be a campfire suddenly, with five people sitting around. Two were obviously twins, another was holding a weird purple orb, one looked like…a goblin. And the last looked a heck of a lot like an overgrown chicken.

"Haven't had protein in a while!" one of the twins said.

"I'm sick of eating nuts!" the other twin added.

"_Meat_!" the chicken exclaimed happily.

"Looks good…" the orb-guy muttered.

"Oh look, it's shaking," Twin #1 said.

"I know you're scared, but it'll be over for you soon enough," the goblin said.

"I'm not shaking because I'm scared…" Happy said.

"Huh?"

Then Chase decided he had enough. "_Hey!_" The five people looked up.

"Don't worry Happy!" Lucy called. "We'll save you!"

"That's our friend you have there," Natsu said, cracking his knuckles. "We can't let you eat him just 'cause you're hungry!"

"You guys are wizards," Gray noted. "What guild are you from?"

"None of your business!" goblin-guy shot back. "Get 'em!" The fight began immediately. Goblin-guy put a fist on the ground, saying, "**Sand Bomb**!"

Natsu, who had leapt at the guy, was now enveloped in an orb of sand. "Natsu!" Lucy cried.

"Don't worry about him!" Gray shouted. "You get Happy!"

"Right!"

Gray leaped at the two twins, who were both armed with swords. He fended them both off with ease.

"Glowblade, launch!" Beyal exclaimed, spinning the core out. It tapped against a rock, and the three-headed snake Monsuno appeared in a burst of light. His Magic Circle had been dark-blue, just like the guild-mark on his right arm. "**Electric Barrage**!" The attack hit the chicken guy head on, sending him into a boulder.

The orb-guy looked like he was charging up some kind of attack with his orb…and then he said to Gray, "You will see the person you wanted to see. I see trouble with water and women in your future." To Chase, he added, "And I see family issues for you in the future. As well as trouble with a former enemy." Finally, to Beyal: "And you, look forward to a happy reunion!"

"Just a fortuneteller?!" Gray exclaimed, looking put-off. Then he punched the guy in the face. "You're just obnoxious!"

Chase blinked. _He didn't even have to use magic! _Then he said, "Uhh, your clothes."

"Since when did I—?"

"Who are these guys?!" goblin-guy exclaimed, clearly frustrated. At that moment, the sand-sphere exploded in flames, revealing an unharmed Natsu. "Uh-oh…"

"Why you…!" Natsu snarled, spitting some sand out. "I'll teach you to fill someone's mouth with sand!" He clapped his fists together. "Here goes! **Fire Dragon Iron Fist**!"

* * *

Of course they won in the end, and the five people were tied up. "Don't get so serious against small fries," Gray said.

"Want me to burn that mouth of yours?!" Natsu shot back.

"You wish. Your fire's too lukewarm."

"Huh?! What'd you say?!"

Then Chase thought he heard the goblin-guy muttur something. Lucy apparently heard as well. "What? 'Lulla'…?"

"Lulla…by…is…"

"Huh? _Lullaby_?" Bren asked rhetorically.

Suddenly a dark shadow came over the area, and the five tied-up people looked scared. A dark shadow resembling a hand went under the tree—and suddenly the whole tree sank into the ground, taking the people with it.

"What was that?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"_Who_ was that?" Jinja asked.

"I cannot sense them anymore," Beyal said.

"Whoever it is, they're fast," Gray added.

"Damn! I don't know what's going on!" Natsu shouted.

"Lullaby…?" Lucy mused. The word lingered in Chase's head as well. For some reason, the gentle-sounding word…didn't sound so gentle in this case.

* * *

They made it back to Magnolia soon after that, riding between Evo, Quickforce, and Vileblaze. Although Natsu was _horribly _motion-sick on Vileblaze. "I take it you don't mix with transportation?" Jinja asked.

"Aye," Happy responded for him. "He has severe motion-sickness."

In the guild, Jinja was looking over job requests with Lucy. "Let's see…" Jinja started. "Finding a magic bracelet…"

"Breaking the spell on a cursed cane…" Lucy picked up.

"Reading someone's love horoscope…"

"Hunting a volcano demon?!" both exclaimed.

"These jobs sure do differ, huh?" Chase asked, scratching the back of his head in a nervous manner. Mirajane came up to them.

"Just let me know if you find one you're interested in, guys," she said. "The master's at a conference right now, you see."

"Conference?" Lucy repeated.

Beyal actually explained it—he'd been focusing on learning how everything worked in this world more than the others. "All guild masters in the region meet together occasionally, and discuss matters."

"It's not the same as the council, but…" Mirajane looked thoughtful. Chase blinked, looking back and forth between the two. Weirdly, they looked alike…same facials. Except Beyal was way more tanned due to his life in Mandala, and had gray eyes, while Mirajane had blue eyes, and very pale-skinned. She turned to a guy sitting at the bar. "Reedus, could I borrow a light-pen?"

"_Oui_," the guy replied, handing what looked like an ordinary pen to Mirajane.

**_A light-pen is a magical item that can write in the air._**

To their shock, she started drawing a diagram—in the air. "The council is at the very top of the magical world. It consists of ten members and has connections with the government. Its purpose is to uphold all the rules in the magical world. Wizards who commit crimes can also be tried here." She gestured to the diagram. "Just below that are the different guild master leagues. They pass on the decisions the council makes and help all the different guilds communicate with each other. Basically, they hold us all together. It's a really tough job."

"I had no idea that guilds were interconnected like that!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Seems pretty organized," Bren put in.

"Yes, it's important that guilds cooperate," Mirajane said. "If a guild doesn't focus on cooperation…"

Natsu suddenly cut in from behind them. "The guys in black will come!" He even set one of his hands on fire for effect. Lucy and Bren both yelped, and Natsu laughed. "You're such scaredy-cats!"

"There really are guys in black, though," Mirajane said, looking slightly nervous while adding to the diagram. "The dark guilds…they're guilds that don't belong to any league. They're malicious people and are often involved in crimes."

"Figures those existed," Chase muttered.

"Just choose a job already, Lucy!" Natsu said, impatient.

"And what gives you the right to tell me what to do?"

"Well, we _are_ a team and all."

Mirajane seemed to realize something. "Oh, yes…Chase, have you picked a team to be part of yet?"

"Team?"

"All guild members are comrades, but people who are on very good terms get together to form teams. The more the merrier, after all!"

Chase's face lit up. _We can stick together on missions, then! _"I guess we already have a team, then. Well, me and my friends."

Apparently they missed something, because Gray said to Lucy, "Don't worry about picking a team. You'll get offers soon enough.

Cana cut in. "Gray. Clothes." Said guy started freaking out. _How can he do that unconsciously?_

"You're annoying," Natsu said.

Gray stopped. "Did you just call me annoying, fire-freak?!"

The insults went on. "There they go again…" Jinja said with a sigh.

Loke suddenly cut in. "Lucy, wanna form a team with me? Tonight, just the two of us."

Lucy looked puzzled. Then Loke seemed to notice something. "Y-You're a celestial wizard?!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah." Happy was eating a fish as he said this. "She has a cow and crab and stuff."

"_What a cruel twist of fate!_" Loke shouted. He turned and started dashing off. "I'm sorry—we can never be together!"

"What's _his_ deal?" Lucy asked, looking confounded.

"Loke's bad at dealing with celestial wizards," Mirajane explained. "Rumor has it he had trouble with a girl a long time ago."

"Really?" Jinja blinked. "You'd never think that, with how he acts."

At that moment Natsu was sent flying right into Chase, knocking him down. "What was that for…?" the raven-haired teen mumbled.

"He picked a fight with me," Gray said. "I can't turn down his offer!"

Cana paused in her drinking. "I told you. Your clothes." Gray began freaking out again.

Natsu stood. "_You're _the one who started it, droopy-eyes!"

"When exactly did I start it, slanty-eyes?!"

"Talking underwear!"

"Amoeba!"

Dax facepalmed, while Happy said, "They're always like this."

Suddenly Loke burst into the hall. "This is bad!" he shouted, getting everyone's attention. "It's Erza…she's back!"


	6. Chapter V

"It's Erza…she's back!" Loke exclaimed.

Everyone—as in, _EVERYONE _besides Mirajane and Team Core-Tech began panicking. Natsu and Gray actually stopped arguing and looked panicked as well! "Erza? As in, the Erza Natsu and Gray were talking about earlier? The scary one?!" Bren asked, sounding increasingly nervous.

"You could say that she's the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail now," Mirajane said, smiling brightly.

Suddenly they heard heavy, metal footsteps. "It's Erza…" someone muttered.

"Those are definitely Erza's footsteps…"

"Erza's come back…"

Chase blinked. _Judging by everyone's reactions…I think Erza's stronger than what Natsu and Gray let on._

Then she came in, holding a giant, decorated horn of some kind. She had bright-red hair, brown eyes, was wearing armor and a blue skirt, as well as black boots. "I've returned," she announced. "Is the Master here?"

"She's not scary," Bren exclaimed quietly, face slightly red. "She's pretty!"

"Welcome back!" Mirajane said. "The Master's at a conference."

"I see," Erza said quietly.

"What is that humongous thing, Erza?" someone asked.

"Oh, this? It's the horn of a monster I subdued. The locals decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir…is there a problem?"

"N-No, not in the least!"

"I bet she's heard about what happened at Mt. Hakobe," Cana noted.

"Oh crap," a blue-haired guy—Macao—muttered. "I'm a goner…"

"She's not what I imagined at all…" Lucy said.

"Listen up!" Erza suddenly said, getting everyone to go stiff. "On the road, I heard that Fairy Tail has been causing yet more trouble. The Master may not care, but I do!" She looked at Cana. "Cana! How dare you drink dressed like that!" Said brown-haired woman went stiff and halted in her drinking. Erza went on. "Vijeeter!"

"Yes?!"

"Dance outside! Wakaba, I see cigarettes on the floor. Nab, I see you're dawdling in front of the request board as usual. Do some work!" Then: "Macao!" The blue-haired man went stiff. Silence for a minute. Then Erza sighed.

"Say something will you?!" Macao exclaimed.

"Honestly, you cause so much trouble. But I'll be kind and say nothing for today."

"She's already said a lot," Lucy whispered to Mirajane. "What is she, a disciplinarian?"

"That's Erza for you," Happy responded.

"Still, even if she's kind of a loudmouth, she looks like a sane person. So why is everyone so afraid of her…?" Jinja mused.

"Are Natsu and Gray here?" Erza asked suddenly.

"Aye!" Happy replied. And there said two wizards were, acting like they were best friends…though they were visibly sweating like crazy.

"H-Hi, Erza. We're good buddies as usual…!" Gray said.

"Aye!" Natsu chipped in. _Why is he talking like Happy?_

"I see," Erza said. "It's natural for good friends to lock horns sometimes, too. That said, I like seeing you get along like that."

"Well, we're not exactly 'good friends'…" Gray muttered.

"Aye!" Natsu said again.

"I've never seen Natsu like this before!" Lucy exclaimed.

"A long time ago, Natsu challenged Erza to a fight and got really beat up," Mirajane explained, drawing a picture.

"She found Gray walking around in his underwear and beat him up too," Macao said.

"She beat Loke up too for trying to hit on her," Cana added. Chase noted Bren go stiff.

"I would've expected as much from him…" Lucy muttered.

"Natsu, Gray, I have a favor to ask," Erza spoke up again.

"Huh?" both said.

"I heard about something bad while on my last job. Normally, I would consult the master about something like this first, but I believe this is a matter of the utmost urgency. I want your help. Will you come with me?"

The two looked at each other. "What in the world?" someone muttered.

"Erza's asking for help?"  
"This is a first!"

"We leave tomorrow," Erza said without an answer. "Make sure you're ready."

Chase winced a bit. _Natsu and Gray on the same team…? I don't think that'll end well._

"Erza, Natsu, and Gray…I never even imagined it before…" Mirajane exclaimed softly. "But this could very well be the most powerful team in Fairy Tail…"

The raven-haired teen blinked. _I wanna know what's so scary about Erza…_ "Guys?" he said quietly. His friends looked up. "I think I'm gonna tag along too."

"Uh, I'll come." Chase stared at Bren in surprise.

"You sure about that B?"

His glasses-wearing friend nodded. "Positive."

"Alright…"

* * *

**_Magnolia Station._**

"Why do I have to team up with you?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"That's my line! If Erza needs help, I'm more than enough by myself!" Gray shot back.

Typically, they had everyone's attention. "Then go by yourself! I don't wanna go!"

"Don't come, then! Let Erza beat you senseless later!"

"I don't know them," Lucy continuously muttered to herself, holding one of her celestial spirits—whom she named Plue. "I don't know them…"

"Why _are_ you here, Lucy?"

"It's because of Mira," Lucy explained.

_"Those two _will_ fight when Erza's not looking, so be there to stop them, okay?"_

_"Me?!"_

_"Don't worry! You'll have Chase and Bren to help too!"_

"You _aren't_ stopping them, though," Happy noted.

"I know, but…"

"I'm sorry," they heard Erza say. "Did I keep you waiting?" Natsu and Gray immediately stopped fighting.

"Oh! Erza—!" Lucy started to exclaim…and she stopped herself. Both Chase and Bren gained shocked looks.

There was Erza…with a whole wagon full of stuff. "Uh…that's a bit much," Chase muttered.

"Let's be good buddies today as usual!" Gray exclaimed, clearly faking.

"Aye sir!"

"Why does Natsu have to do that?" Bren asked no one in particular.

"Exactly my point," Lucy agreed.

"Yes. It's important to be on good terms," Erza praised. She turned to look at the three on the bench. "So, who are you three? Didn't I see you at Fairy Tail yesterday?"

"I-I'm Lucy! I just joined!"

Chase followed up. "My name's Chase." Hearing no reply from Bren, Chase did it for him. "And this is Bren."

"Mira asked us to come with you too. It's nice to meet you," Lucy followed up. Of course, there were Natsu and Gray in each other's faces again…

"Ah, so you're Lucy? The one who defeated a mercenary gorilla with just your little finger?" She glanced over at Natsu and Gray—who immediately acted like best friends again—and looked at Chase and Bren. "And you're part of the five who took care of the Wyvern Gang with strange creatures? "

"Uh-huh," Bren muttered.

"It'll be wonderful to have you all on board. Thanks for your help." Again she glanced at Natsu and Gray, with same result.

"M-My pleasure…" Lucy muttered. "Though that's not quite what happened…"

"Erza," Natsu said. "I'll come along, but on one condition."

Gray looked worried all of a sudden. "What is it? Tell me," Erza replied.

Natsu clenched a fist. "Fight me once we get back." _Is he crazy?!_ Chase thought.

"Hey! Don't get hasty!" Gray said quickly. "Do you _want_ to die?!"

"Things are different from last time." He looked determined. "I can beat you now!"

Erza smirked a bit. "It's true that you've improved. I feel somewhat at a disadvantage, but all right. I accept."

"All right!" Natsu cheered, exhilarated enough to actually breathe some fire. "Now I'm all fired up!"

* * *

It became the opposite on the train.

"Geez, you're pathetic," Gray said. "This, immediately after picking a fight?" At the moment, Natsu was suffering from his severe motion-sickness.

"It's gotta be tough doing this every time," Bren commented. "I mean, if he gets _that_ sick."

"All right…Natsu, come sit next to me," Erza said. Of course this meant both Chase and Lucy had to get up and move so Natsu could sit. And they didn't want to be near him, just in case he wound up being sick. "Just relax…" And then Erza punched him in the gut, hard. He was instantly out cold. "There. That should be better."

_Okay…maybe she's not so sane,_ Chase thought, eye twitching a bit. "Erza," Gray said. "Isn't it about time you fill us in? What exactly are we doing?"

"Right. We're going up against the Eisenwald dark guild. They plan to use a magic called Lullaby for something big."

"Lullaby?" Gray exclaimed in unison with Happy and Bren.

"That thing from before?!" Chase exclaimed. Erza's eyes narrowed slightly.

* * *

**_The dark guild Eisenwald._**

"I hear Kageyama sent us word," one said. "Says he finally got the item."

"At last, our big chance has come," another said. "This is our only chance to achieve our goal; the guild-master geezers are in the middle of their conference."

* * *

"I see. So you've encountered Eisenwald as well," Erza murmured.

"Probably," Gray said. "They _did _mention something about Lullaby."

"It sounds like they were guild dropouts. The plan must've been too much for them, so they ran off."

"And that plan has something to do with Lullaby?" Bren asked.

"It's only a guess, but the shadow that dragged them off was probably Eisenwald's main squad. They must not have wanted the plan to get out."

"What kind of plan are we talking about?" Lucy asked.

"Allow me to explain everything in order. It happened the other day, on my way home after that job. I stopped by a pub in Onibas where wizards gather. I overheard some wizards mention something about Lullaby and a seal…and one of the three left, and to tell a man by the name of Erigor that he'd return with Lullaby in three days."

"Lullaby…as in a nursery rhyme?" Chase asked dubiously.

"Yes. The fact it's sealed away likely means it's very powerful magic."

"And they were members of Eisenwald too?" Gray asked.

"Yes. Like a fool, though, I didn't recognize the name _Erigor _at the time—he's the ace of the Eisenwald dark guild. He only accepts assassination-related jobs, for which he earned the nickname 'Erigor the Reaper'."

"Assassination?" Bren repeated shakily.

"The council outlawed assassination requests, but Eisenwald decided that money is more important. As a result, it was kicked out of the wizard guild league six years ago. However, they disobeyed orders and remain active to this day."

"Uh…I think I wanna go home now," Bren said, sweating like crazy.

"S-Same here!" Lucy agreed.

Erza pounded her fist on the nearest hardest object. Namely, Natsu's head. "I was a fool…if only I had recognized Erigor's name then, I could've pulverized them and had them confess their scheme!"

"So…Eisenwald is planning to do something with this…Lullaby thing," Chase summed up. "And we need to stop them because it's obviously something really bad."

"Yes. I don't believe I can take on an entire guild by myself. That's why I asked for help." Determination in her eyes, Erza added, "We're going to storm the Eisenwald guild!"

"Sounds interesting," Gray said.  
"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"I shouldn't have come…" Lucy muttered. Bren, meanwhile, was shaking like a leaf.

"C'mon B, it won't be _too_ bad," Chase encouraged.

"That's what you think!"

Something crossed Chase's mind after they had gotten some snacks. "Uh, I hope you don't mind, but…what sort of magic do you use, Erza?"

"That's what I was wondering," Lucy put in.

"It's not rude at all," Erza said.

"Erza's magic is pretty!" Happy said. "It makes her enemies bleed a lot!"

"That's not pretty!" Bren burst out.

"Personally, I think Gray's magic is prettier," Erza said after taking a bite of some strawberry cake she had gotten.

"Really?" said guy muttered, putting his left fist in his right hand. A turquoise Magic Circle formed momentarily, and a chill came over the small area they were in. And before they knew it, Gray was holding a 3-D ice version of the Fairy Tail symbol.

"Whoa!" Chase exclaimed.

"Ice magic," Gray explained.

"Oh! So is that why you and Natsu never get along?" Bren asked.

"Because Natsu uses fire and you use ice?" Lucy added.

"Huh…I never thought of that."

"Does it matter?"

* * *

**_Onibas Station._**

"Are the Eisenwald guys still in this town?" Gray asked.

"I don't know. That's what we're about to find out," Erza replied.

"That's going to be a wild goose chase…" Lucy said.

"Hey, where's Natsu?" Happy asked.

All five of them froze, and whirled around—just in time to see the train leave. "Ah krag," Chase muttered. "There he goes."

"I was so absorbed in our conversation that I forgot all about him!" Erza exclaimed. "I can't believe myself! He's terrible at riding vehicles, too!"

"Hey, no worry," Chase said, taking out Nightstone's core. "I'll go get him."

* * *

"What's this? Fairy Tail? You're a wizard in a legitimate guild?" someone asked. "I'm jealous!"

"Huh?!"

Natsu looked up—just in time for the guy to put his foot in his face. "Don't act big just 'cause you're in an official guild, Mr. Fairy. Do you know what we call you guys?" He didn't wait for an answer. "We call you flies!"

Natsu felt one eye twitch, and he set both his hands on fire in preparation for a fight…only to have the flames go out.

"Huh? You call that magic?" the guy said, looking mock-shocked. "Real magic…" A black Magic Circle formed beneath him, and suddenly three solid tendrils of shadows shot out, knocking Natsu onto the floor. "…is used like this."

_That magic…!_

The train haled suddenly, causing the guy to fall and for Natsu to slide a bit. And some sort of strange wooden flute fell onto the ground.

* * *

"Thanks for understanding!" Chase said.

"Uh…it's n-nothing!" the conductor said, staring at Nightstone in shock. After that he called his Monsuno back and got onto the train.

* * *

_The train stopped…_ Natsu thought. Then he looked at the flute. "Huh? What's that?"

The guy looked freaked out. "Y-You saw it…"

"Shut up! Now it's payback time!" He went in to use **Fire Dragon Iron Fist_._**

"**Shadow Guard**!" the guy exclaimed at the last second.

* * *

Chase jumped when the next cart over suddenly exploded. _Oh no…_

* * *

"Damn you…!" the guy growled.

"Heh…fly punch!" Natsu said.

_"We apologize for the sudden stop,"_ a voice over an intercom said. _"We will depart again shortly."_

"Crap! I'm outta here!" Natsu exclaimed, right as Chase came in.

"Natsu, wha'…?!"

"Wait, you!" the guy shouted. "You'll pay for messing with the Eisenwald guild!" Chase froze at hearing the word "Eisenwald."

"You're with Eisenwald, huh? I'll teach you to mock Fairy Tail! Let's take this outside!"

It was very sudden that they were both thrown out of the train. "Oww…" Chase mumbled, rubbing his head. "Natsu, are you crazy?!"

The coral-haired Fire Dragon Slayer retorted with, "How dare you leave me behind!"

"I came to get you!"

"Natsu!" they heard Erza shout. They turned to see the others come on what looked like a green automobile.

**_A Magic-mobile. It's fast, but runs on its driver's magic energy._**

It stopped, and the others climbed out. "It's good to see you alright," the red-haired woman continued. Natsu was quick to respond.

"Urgh! I'm not all right—some weirdo attacked me on the train!"

"Weirdo?" Lucy repeated questioningly.

"I'm pretty sure it was the one who dragged away the guys who tried to eat Happy. Said he was with Eisenwald…"

Erza went stiff—and slapped Natsu in the face. "You fool!" she shouted. "We're trying to go after Eisenwald! Why did you let him go?!"

"No one told me…"

"Uh, Erza?" Chase cut in nervously. "Don't forget, you were the one who knocked Natsu out while you explained it…"

"That's Erza for you!" Happy put in.

Erza went back onto her magic-mobile. "He was on that train, you say? We're going after it!"

"What was he like?" Gray asked.

"Well, his hair sorta looked like a black pineapple," Chase said.

"And he had some kind of skull flute," Natsu put in. "The skull had three eyes."

"A three-eyed skull?" Lucy exclaimed.

"What's the matter, Lucy?" Happy asked.

"I know about that flute…Lullaby—a cursed song…it's death-magic!"

"Wh-What?!" Bren exclaimed.

"A cursed song? Like an incantation?" Gray queried.

"I've only read about them in books, but there are some deadly, forbidden spells out there, right?" the blond girl asked.

"Yes. Cursed black magic that kills whomever it's used on," Erza said.

"Well, Lullaby is even worse than that!"

* * *

The passengers of the train stared in shock as the conductor dropped dead. "This train belongs to Eisenwald now!" a white-haired man with a giant scythe announced.

**_Kunugi Station._**

"Dump everything, including the luggage and the conductor," the man continued. "Defy us and you die."

"Erigor." The black-haired man climbed out of the train.

"Kageyama…I heard you were returning aboard this train. This wreckage, though…did something happen?"  
"I can explain later. First, have a look at this." He took the wooden flute from a pocket in his jacket. He chuckled and said, "I managed to break the seal."

Erigor took the flute. "This is the forbidden Lullaby? This flute was originally nothing but a simple death-cursing tool. But the great black wizard Zeref developed it further into a demon flute. Its terrifying mass-death cursing kills all who hear the sound of the flute."

* * *

Chase and Bren were both riding on Quickforce—and boy were they glad. Erza must have been going seventy miles an hour.

Of course, the Core-Tech leader's mind was elsewhere. _What Lucy said…Lullaby kills anyone who hears it. What could Eisenwald want with it…?_


	7. Chapter VI

**_Clover_********_Town. The conference building for the Guild Master League._**

"Oh Macky! Your wizards are so nice and full of life!"

**_This is Bob, the master of the Blue Pegasus wizard guild. He _****is****_ male, by the way._**

"In fact, I heard one gave some big-shot a real thrashing!" he went on.

"Oh, you must mean Lucy!" Makarov said. "She just joined!"

"Makarov, this is serious business!" another voice cut in.

**_This is Goldmine, the master of the Quatro Cerberus wizard guild. _**

"Your people may be spirited, but they always go too far. I hear some of the guys on the council are worried that Fairy Tail's gonna go and obliterate an entire city one of these days."

Suddenly what looked like a bluebird wearing a hat flew in, carrying a letter. It also spoke: "Master Makarov! A letter from Miss Mirajane!" The bird dropped the letter into Makarov's hand.

"Thank you!"

"No problem!"

Instead of opening it, he instead circled his finger on the seal, and a green Magic-Circle appeared, and a small illusion of Mirajane appeared. _"Master! I'm glad you made it to the conference!" _the illusion said.

"What do you think?! This is our poster girl! A cutesy, ain't she?"

_"__Something very wonderful has happened during your absence, Master!_

"Oh…?

_"__You'll never believe it! Erza, Natsu, _and _Gray have all teamed up, along with Chase and Bren!" _Makarov promptly jaw-dropped in shock. _"I think they might be the strongest team in Fairy Tail as of now! I just thought I'd send you a letter to let you know! Bye now!"_

As soon as the message was done, Makarov dropped the letter, jaw still hanging. "Well, looks like those worries could become reality," Goldmine said.

Makarov then fell backwards, twitching. _I-I can't believe this! A team of Erza, Natsu, and Gray really could destroy a city! And with that strange magic that Chase and Bren use…I don't even wanna think about it! The conference ends today, so I can be back by tomorrow…I just hope nothing horrible happens!_

* * *

**_Kunugi Station_**

"Some guys with scythes suddenly took over the train!" one person reported to a member of the army.

"I know who they are!" another said. "They're the dark-guild guys who've been hanging around this area!"

From up on a cliff, Lucy said, "I can understand carriages and boats, but taking over a _train_?"

"Aye! It wouldn't be very helpful, since trains can only follow tracks!"  
"But they _are_ fast," Erza reasoned.

"They're rushing for some reason," Chase noted. "And Gray…where did your clothes go?"

"Huh?" The ice wizard looked himself over. "Oh…still, the army's already taking action, so it's only a matter of time until they're caught."

"Yeah…we have a bad track-record of things dealing with government," Chase muttered.

"Big-time," Bren agreed.

Natsu, meanwhile, was still motion-sick, even though they'd stopped. "Let's hope so, anyway," Erza said, agreeing with Gray's statement, and they went on their way again.

* * *

Kageyama ducked to the side when Erigor slashed at him with his scythe. "You allowed two Fairy Tail flies to see the Lullaby flute and get away, Kageyama?" he asked.

"Th-They don't know about the plan!" Kageyama babbled. "Besides, even if they did, the plan is still unstoppable!"

"We need to be absolutely certain. I'm setting the strategy into motion."

"Then Oshibana Station is the place…"

Erigor held up the Lullaby flute. "There are some forests flies shouldn't buzz around in. Go teach them a lesson."

* * *

People leaped out of the way as Erza's magic-mobile skid-turned in a crossroad in the middle of a city. Bren shrieked before yelling, "Erza's driving is as crazy as Jinja's!"

"Erza! Not so fast!" Gray shouted from the top of the vehicle, where he was clinging on for dear life. "You're overloading the SE plug!"

"Scores of people will die if the Lullaby flute is played!" Erza shot back. "Just hearing the sound of it is fatal!"

"What if you run out of magic power just when we really need it?!"

"If that happens, I'll use a stick or something to fight. Besides, you and Natsu are with us, too. As are Lucy, Chase, and Bren." Then: "There it is!"

**_Oshibana Station_**

"Please leave the premises!" a conductor announced. "This station is currently closed due to a train derailment!"

"A _derailment_? You serious?" someone asked.

"I heard some dangerous guys have taken over the station…" another murmured.

"Please leave the premises!" the conductor repeated.

Erza suddenly materialized at the guy's shoulder. "Tell me! What's the situation inside?!" she demanded.

"Huh?! Who are you—?" He didn't get to finish, as she knocked him out cold.

"What's the situation inside?!" she repeated to another, who looked scared out of his wits. Apparently he didn't react fast enough, as she knocked him out too. And she repeated the question _again _to a third one.

"I guess she has no use for people who can't answer immediately…" Lucy noted. One of Chase's eyes twitched a few times, and Bren was sweating like crazy.

"Finally starting to understand what she's like?" Gray asked.

"Why aren't you wearing clothes?!"

"Eisenwald's inside. Let's go," Erza ordered.

"Right!" They went in, although Bren swallowed hard first. In order to help Lucy with Natsu, Bren spun out Longfang first.

As they ran in, Erza explained, "Apparently a small army unit broke in earlier but has yet to return. They're probably locked in combat with Eisenwald."

When they came to the staircase, however…

"Holy krag! They got thrashed!" Chase exclaimed, seeing the whole of the unit scattered about the stairway and the floor above.

"We're up against an entire guild. They're all wizards, in other words. A unit this size never stood a chance."

"Will _we_ have a chance?" Bren asked fearfully.

No answer came, as once they were through the door—

"So you _did _come, you Fairy Tail flies," a guy said. It was the pineapple-hair from the train…along with a bunch of other guys.

Lucy stared in shock, as did Bren. "Th-There are so many…!" Lucy whispered hoarsely.

"You. Are you Erigor?!" Erza demanded. She directed it at a white-haired shirtless guy with a bunch of dark-blue tattoos and a dark-blue scarf…as well as a giant scythe. He smirked, but didn't reply.

"Wake up, Natsu! Time to work!" Lucy urged, shaking the still-ill coral-haired guy.

"It's no use," Happy said. "He rode a train, a Magic-mobile, you, and then Bren's giant sabertooth. It's a quadruple vehicle sickness combo!"

"_I'm a vehicle?!_"

"Damn flies!" pineapple-head went on. "Because of you, Erigor got mad at me…!"

Apparently that was the trick, for suddenly Natsu looked alert. "That voice…!"

"What is your aim?!" Erza shouted. "What are you planning to do with the Lullaby?!"

"You mean you don't know?" the white-haired man—Chase suspected Erigor—asked. He suddenly jumped…into the air. "What do train stations have?"

"He's flying!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It's wind-magic!" Happy clarified.

To answer his own question, Erigor set himself on…an intercom. "You plan to broadcast it?!" Erza exclaimed, horrified.

Erigor laughed. "Thousands of nosy onlookers have gathered around this station. No, if I raise the volume, the melody of death might just echo throughout the entire city…"

Chase's eyes widened when he realized the scope of the danger. If Erigor did that…the whole city would be wiped out!

"This is a cleansing," Erigor went on. "A cleansing of fools who preserve their livelihoods by flaunting their rights, ignorant of those who've had their rights stolen away. It is a sin to live oblivious to this unfair world. Therefore…the reaper has come to dish out punishment."

"That won't give you your rights back!" Chase challenged. "Besides, I hear you were kicked out of the wizard league because you kept misusing your rights!"

"At this point, we don't want rights. We want power! With power, we can wash away the entire past and control the future."

_Sounds like Klipse,_ Chase thought darkly.

"You're insane!" Lucy shouted.

"So sorry, flies," Kageyama said, crouching and putting one hand on the ground. "You're going to the afterlife without getting to witness the age of darkness!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, spears consisted of shadows lunged at them, and Chase prepared for the worst—

When Natsu suddenly shattered the shadows with one of his fire-based attacks. "I knew I recognized that voice!" he shouted.

"Nice recovery timing," Bren commented.

"Oh, look at all these people!" Natsu went on, ignoring the geek.

"They're all enemies!" Chase said.

Natsu punched his palm. "Sounds interesting."

* * *

_We got you now, Fairy Tail,_ Erigor thought. _Everything is going as I planned. There are people who have to hear the sound of the flute—there are people who we must get revenge against._

* * *

"Warning you now, you're facing the strongest team Fairy Tail's got!" Chase challenged.

To his underlings, Erigor said, "I leave the rest to you. Teach them the true terror of a dark guild." Then he suddenly vanished.

"_He ran away?!_" Chase shouted in disbelief.

"Natsu. Gray. Chase. You three go after him," Erza said. At their looks, she explained, "If you three work together, not even Erigor the Reaper can beat you. Chase, even though I've only known you for a short while, I can tell you have powerful magic energy." Chase looked up in surprise at hearing that—Erza was complimenting him? Gray and Natsu, meanwhile, were in each other's faces. The red-haired woman suddenly whirled around. "Are you listening?!"

"_Aye ma'am!_" Natsu shouted as they both ran, dragging Chase with them.

"They're going after Erigor!" a member of Eisenwald shouted.

"I got this!" one guy said, materializing black threads of some kind and pulling himself up to the second story. "I, the great Rayule, will take them down!"

"I'm coming too!" Kageyama said, vanishing into a puddle of shadow on the ground.

"We'll hurry after them too when we're done here," Erza said to Lucy and Bren.

"Two girls and a wimp against this many?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Hey!" Bren complained.

Erza held out one of her hands, and a scarlet magic-circle appeared—then a sword materialized out of the air. _A sword?! Wait—I bet it's a magic sword!_

"Try insulting Fairy Tail again!" Erza challenged. "You won't live to see tomorrow!"

"That's nothin' special!" one member of Eisenwald said. "We got tons of magic swordsmen on our side!" All of said wizards lunged, swords out.

Just as Bren was set to send out Quickforce…there was a blur, and all of their swords broke, and they were sent flying back. Erza then lunged at the ones who hadn't moved, and their swords were broken too.

"Eat this!" another dark-mage shouted, and he and a few others sent beams of light shooting at her—it looked like it hit, but she leaped, and with a flash, she was suddenly holding a large spear.

"It turned into a spear!" Lucy exclaimed.

After beating the krag out of some more dark-guild members, the spear flashed, and suddenly Erza was holding two swords—and proceeded to beat the krag out of more guys.

"Now she has two swords!" one exclaimed.

"This woman can requip so fast!" another shouted.

"Requip?" Lucy asked at the same time as Bren.

"Magic swords are sort of like your celestial magic—you basically summon weapons stored in a different pocket of space," Happy explained. "Switching between those weapons is called 'requipping'."

"Whoa! That's—awesome!" Bren exclaimed.

"Erza's amazingness is just getting started," the cat went on, expression suddenly darkening.

"_Erza_?" one of the dark wizards repeated.

"All right! I can kick butt, too!" Lucy said, taking out her Gatekeys.

"Count me in!" Bren said, taking out Quickforce's core.

"HUH?! But Erza's just about to have her big scene!" Happy objected.

"**Open, Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!**" There was a gold flash of light, and a man with black hair braided in red cornrows ending in a shape that resembled a crab's pinchers wearing green-lensed sunglasses appeared. Not to mention he had six crab legs from his back…as well as two pairs of scissors. Weapons most likely.

"Another fight, shrimp?" he asked.

"Take 'em out with style!" Lucy replied, a glint in her eyes.

There was suddenly a blur…and suddenly a lot of the guys were missing a bunch of hair. "My weapon!" one exclaimed as his sword fell into pieces.

"My hair!" another exclaimed.

Bren took advantage of the situation. "**Quickforce, launch!**" he exclaimed, spinning the core out. It collided against a pillar in a flash of blue light, and the antelope-raven hybrid materialized. "**Blind Wing**!" he said.

Quickforce complied. "My eyes!" one of the dark mages shouted, covering his face.

"Now **Dispersion Blast**!" And that took care of it.

"Not bad," Erza commented.

Bren immediately blushed, while Lucy said, "Really?" Then: "All right! My likeability's gone up!"

"That's what you were trying for?!" Happy asked in shock.

"However, the way this crab-spirit of yours calls you shrimp," Erza went on, getting sidetracked. "It bugs me."

"…forget what I said," Lucy muttered.

They looked around. _Oh man…there's still a lot of them!_ Bren thought, getting worried. He heard a whinny from Quickforce—picking up on its controller's anxiety.

Erza voiced said fact, albeit differently. "Annoying…but I'll wipe them out." A red magic-circle formed beneath her, and she suddenly began glowing. _What the—?!_

"Most magic-swordsmen only have the ability to change their weapons," Happy started. "But Erza's able to swap her armor for wizarding armor that enhances her abilities. It's a talent that only she possesses. That's what makes her magic special—it's a technique called **The Knight**."

Erza's armor was now seemingly made of silver metal, consisting of feather-shaped plates, and metal wings that reminded him of Evo for some reason—except metal. She was also wearing a tiara with metal wings on the side, with a long skirt and metal boots.

Both Bren and Lucy stared open-mouthed. Erza then got serious. "Dance, my swords!" she said—and suddenly a ring of swords appeared around her.

"I knew it!" one guy exclaimed. "It _has_ to be her!"

"**Circle Sword**!" Erza shouted, sending the swords out in a wave.

"Whoa!" Lucy exclaimed. "She took most of them out with a single swipe!"

"Aye!" happy put in.

"Alright, you're dealing with me now!" one remaining guy shouted, his fists lighting up as he lunged.

"No doubt about it!" the guy who apparently knew who she was said. "She's the strongest woman in Fairy Tail…" Meanwhile, Erza sent the guy skidding on the floor. "She's Queen of the Fairies—Titania Erza!"

The remaining people fled, one yelling "Screw this!" Erza, meanwhile, went back to her original armor.

Bren barely managed to call Quickforce back. _Whoa! She's—she's just—wow!_

"I imagine he went to go warn Erigor," Erza said. "You both should follow him."

"Wha'—us?!" Lucy asked.

"_Just do it_!"

"Whatever you say!" Bren screamed, grabbing Lucy by the arm and Happy by the paw as he ran out of there.

Once they were gone, Erza went to her knees. _Gray was right…I overdid it on the Magic-mobile…_ She looked up. _Please boys…don't fail me now._

* * *

"I can't believe she's making us work together!" Gray spat. "What was she thinking?!"

"Obviously she _wasn't _thinking—everyone knows that fire and ice don't mix!" Natsu added. Chase groaned. _Why'd I have to get stuck with these two?_

"Yeah why does she always have to be so freaking bossy?

"She should just ask us instead of ordering us around!"

Then they stopped. The road went two directions. "Which way to we go?" Chase asked.

"I guess we'll have to split up," Gray responded.

Gray was going alone, while Chase would be going with Natsu. "Both of you," Gray started. "We're up against an evil freak who's getting ready to unleash a death-spell. If you guys find him, give him a thrashing!"

"You don't have to worry about that!" Natsu replied. "I've got a bone to pick with that jerk for messing with Fairy Tail! I'm gonna burn 'im to a crisp!"

"If Lock doesn't flatten him first!" Chase put in, holding up said Monsuno's core.

* * *

As he was running, Gray paused, looking. _So that's it…Erigor's gonna play Lullaby through the speaker system. _He found a door marked "studio" and kicked it open. _No one here…maybe I was wrong about him broadcasting it over the station's PA…_

He moved just in time to avoid an attack. "That was a pretty good guess, pal," a guy with tanned skin and a pointed nose said. "Your hunches are too good—you're an obstacle in the plan!" Black threads of some kind came from rings on his fingers.

"There's another side to this, looks like," Gray noted aloud.

* * *

"Someone's coming out!" a civilian exclaimed.

"Huh?" another asked.

"If you value your lives, leave this place at once!" Erza announced in a megaphone. "This station has been taken over by evil wizards! They intend to use a spell to kill everyone here!" The civilians all stared in shock. "Run as far away as you can!" Like magic, they ran.

"Hey, you!" a conductor exclaimed. "Why would you start a panic like that?!"

"It's better than having everyone die," Erza replied. "You should evacuate, too." After a few moments, he did as such.

_Now there's no one around the station. _A breeze blew. _What will Erigor's next move be?_ She turned around—and gasped. Where the station once was, there was now a huge tornado. _The station is surrounded by wind!_

She failed to notice Erigor behind her.

* * *

Gray barely backed off in time.

"There's no escape from my urumi swords!" Rayule taunted.

In response, Gray charged up his magic energy, the room growing cold. "**Ice Make: Shield!**" Pillars of ice shot out of the ground, blocking the thread-swords.

"Ice magic?!" Rayule exclaimed, surprised.

But Gray wasn't done there. "**Ice Make: Knuckle!**" Multiple pillars of ice in the shapes of fists shot out of the ground, sending him flying. "What is your guys' _real _goal?!" Gray demanded. "You never planned to broadcast the Lullaby over the speakers?!"

Instead of responding, Rayule chuckled. "Erigor's Magic Wind Wall should be active right about now…"

"Magic Wind Wall?" Gray repeated.

"A wind barrier to keep you guys from escaping!"

* * *

"I had always wanted to fight you at least once, Titania," Erigor said, getting Erza to turn around. "But it's a pity. I have no time to play with you now!"

He raised one hand, and a dark-purple magic-circle appeared—and after a blinding flash of light, Erza found herself within the "tornado."

She threw herself at it in an attempt to get out, only to be knocked backwards. "Forget it," she heard Erigor say. "This Magic Wind Wall is one-way only. Try to leave, and the wind will tear you apart."

"What is the meaning of this?!" Erza demanded.

"You people have wasted much of our time. I must be going now."

"Wait!" But he was already gone. _Curse you, Erigor…where are you headed?! Your target _wasn't_ this station, in other words…?_

* * *

Gray pushed Rayule against the wall. "I hate when things get confusing," he growled. "Explain what's going on!"

"We simply created a cage to hold some flies," the dark mage replied with a sneer on his face. "We only took over this station to block all traffic to the final stop…Clover Station."

Gray's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "What?!"

"Clover Station is beyond a large gorge, and the only way to get there is by train—unless you're able to fly like Erigor, that is!"

"The Lullaby's there?!"

"Know what's in Clover? Try to remember!" Gray was silent for a moment, pondering…when he noticed Rayule's urumi swords snaking towards him. He immediately blocked the attack. _Clover…that's where Gramps and the others are holding their conference! The guild masters are their real target?!_

"Finally figured it out?" Rayule asked. "Too late to do anything about it, though!"

"That's pretty brave of you, trying to go after such powerful old wizards!" Gray exclaimed, blocking another attack.

"Having those ignorant old fogies hear the flute will be a cinch! Erigor will succeed—I'm sure of it!" He suddenly had Gray tied up with the urumi swords. "And you pests are stuck in this station! No one can stop him now! We're going to have our revenge on everyone who ever oppressed us—they're all about to disappear for good!"

Gray smirked…and then the urumi swords were all frozen solid. Without a word, he shattered them. "We _will _stop you," he said with certainty. Rayule was also being frozen, literally. "And we'll make you regret trying to take out our masters. Even if they're old fogies, they're like parents to us!"

* * *

_It's about time to strike…_ Kageyama thought, following the pink-haired guy and the teal-eyed kid via shadows.

* * *

"Erigor…" Erza mused, staring at the Magic Wind Wall.

* * *

"Where did that fat one go?!" Lucy exclaimed, Bren and Happy behind her.

"Erza's gonna strangle you guys if you don't find him quick!" the latter quipped.

"_Not helping!_" Bren shouted.

* * *

"I'll show you that there's a guild even more terrifying than the dark-guilds," Gray went on.

Rayule could not answer, however. He was frozen solid.


	8. Chapter VII

**_Oshibana Station_**

All the dark wizards had been tied up. "Forget it!" one exclaimed. "You know we can't undo the magic barrier…"

"Erza!"

Said woman looked up. "Gray! Weren't Natsu and Chase with you?!"

"We split up! But never mind that for now! Eisenwald's real target is the town up ahead—Gramps' and the others' conference! They plan to use the Lullaby _there_!"

Erza immediately turned on the dark-mage she was interrogating, a murderous aura around her. "Is that so?!" Turning back to Gray, she said, "The station's surrounded by a Magic Wind Wall, though."

"Yeah, I saw it. Try to break out and it'll turn you into mincemeat."

"I've already tried…"

"Erza, your arm!"

"It's nothing. But, as we speak, Erigor is nearing the masters." She was silent a few moments. "Come to think of it, there was someone in Eisenwald named Kage. He managed to break the Lullaby's seal all by himself."

"A dispeller…a seal-breaking wizard?! He could remove the Magic Wind Wall, too!"

"Let's find him—catch Kage!"

"Right!"

* * *

Lucy and Bren had slowed to a walk. "We completely lost him…" Lucy muttered.

"Aye," Happy said.

"Can we go back to Erza for now?" Bren asked. Happy then freaked out. "What's wrong?"

"E-Erza said to go after him," Happy stammered. "You gotta be really gutsy to ignore an order from her…I don't want to see her do it to you guys, too…"

Bren's face went pink while Lucy shivered in fear. "A-All right! We'll look until we find him!" Lucy said quickly.

"Your mood sure changes easily, Lucy…"

"Shut up! Why are you getting so attached to me anyway, cat?!"

Clearly her thoughts had been completely different from Bren's.

* * *

"_Erigor! Where are you hiding?!_" Natsu yelled.

"Uh…I think you're going a bit overboard," Chase said, shaking slightly. Natsu was punching and kicking holes in the wall.

Chase then noticed a _moving shadow_ on the ground—right before Natsu was suddenly slammed into some boxes. "I owe you for earlier, you motion-sick fly!"

"You again?!" Natsu yelled. The attempt at being intimidated was killed by the fact that his face was through a poster.

"That suits you," the guy said, while Chase facepalmed.

"Shut up, Toupee."

"Not 'Toupee'! Kage—Kageyama!"

"Oh, that so?"

"Whatever, though," Kageyama said, looking smug. "I've got your magic figured out—you increase your destructive power by adding fire to your body. That's pretty rare magic!"

Natsu, meanwhile, was attempting to pry the poster board off, though in the end he simply set his head on fire. "I _really_ wanna beat you up, but this is not time for that!"

"Where's Erigor?" Chase demanded.

"That's a good question," Kageyama said. "I'll consider telling you…if you can beat me." He moved fast: "**Knuckle Shadow**!"

Chase barely had time to process it before he was suddenly punched in the face by a physical shadow—in the shape of a fist, of course.

Natsu managed to block the attack. He looked startled a moment before saying "That was a dirty trick!"

Chase picked himself up, and grabbed Nitestone's core. They were still in the building—Lock would be overkill. "**Nitestone, launch**!" he exclaimed, throwing the core.

Kageyama looked bemused as the core collided with a wall—and then shocked as he suddenly had the panther-jackal snarling in his face. "What the—?"

The raven-haired teen smirked. "So you'll tell us where Erigor is after we thrash you?"

"Great idea!" Natsu approved. "Two birds with one stone…now I'm all fired up!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucy, Bren, and Happy all paused when the whole building suddenly shook. "Wh-What's going on?" Bren asked nervously.

* * *

Chase was being sure to stay away from Kageyama's shadows himself, while Nitestone continuously went in to slash at him—while Natsu just flat-out tried beating on him while dodging as well.

Then things got serious. "You can't dodge my **Snake Shadow**!" Kage shouted. "It'll follow you wherever you go!"

Natsu's response was simple: his **Fire Dragon Wing Attack**. And Chase followed up: "Nitestone, **Firespear Barrage**!"

* * *

"Is that…?" Gray started, trailing off. Erza merely nodded.

* * *

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Chase too," Bren added. _He didn't use _Lock_, did he?!_

* * *

"Wow, you made us trash the place even more," Natsu said. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Well, looks like we win, Diorama."

"It's Kageyama!" said guy shouted, even though he was covered in soot.

"Okay, so tell us where Erigor is," Chase said, getting to business. "You promised."

Kageyama laughed darkly. "You fools. Erigor's not in this station anymore…"

"Huh?!" both the Fire-Dragon Slayer and the controller exclaimed at the same time.

Then they heard Erza: "Natsu! Chase! That's enough—we need him!"

Gray picked up: "Way to go, fire freak!"

Chase froze. "W-Whoa, Erza, watch it with that sword—!" The scarlet-haired woman dashed right in between the two, slashing at the stone wall inches away from Kageyama's head…who looked like he was going to pass out now.

"You will dispel the Wind Barrier and you will do so without complaint!" Erza ordered.

"Just do it man!" Natsu said shakily. "This chick's a real monster!"

"Cut it out, Natsu," Gray said.

"Understood?" Erza went on, holding the sword's tip up at Kageyama's face.

"Fine! I'll dispel it!"

No sooner did he say that, however…he suddenly dropped. And there was another one of Eisenwald's mages that was somehow partially through the wall behind him.

_Did…did that really just happen…?_ Chase thought, horrified.

"You…you did that to one of your own friends!" Natsu shouted, looking shocked and angry. "He's a member of your guild! He trusted you, and you tried _killing him_!" He had also lit himself on fire at this point. The guy vanished through the wall…which was no use, seeing as Natsu promptly blew a hole in the wall with his fist, knocking the guy out in the meantime. "Is that how you Dark-Guild members treat each other?!"

"Please Kage, stay with us!" Erza shouted.

"It's no use—he's unconscious," Gray reasoned.

"We can't let him die—he's our only way out of here!"

"Uh, Erza? Banging his head on the ground isn't gonna help," Chase said in a flat tone.

"And there's no way he can use his magic in this condition!" Gray added.

"_If I force him to he will!_" Erza yelled.

"Um…" Chase looked—there was Lucy, Bren, and Happy standing there.

"Is this a bad time?" Bren asked.

"Aye…" Happy said quietly.

* * *

"_What_? Erigor wants to use Lullaby on the Guild Masters?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"We have to stop him!" Natsu yelled.

"That's easier said than done—Erigor cut off our only means of reaching Clover," Erza said. "He's headed there by air."

"I'm pretty sure we can catch him if we use the Magic Mobile…"

"Or the Monsunos," Bren said, looking at Quickforce's core. "But I'm not sending Quickforce into _that_!" He looked at the Wind Barrier as he said so.

"Or Evo," Chase agreed.

"First we have to get on the other side of this barrier," Gray said.

"How are we gonna do that?" Lucy asked.

Natsu then attempted to punch it…only to get sent flying backwards into a pillar. "And that's what happens if you try to bust through," the Ice-Make wizard mumbled.

"Kage—wake up! You're our only hope now!" Erza said to the unconscious dark mage.

Natsu was still trying to get through, getting knocked back each time. "Cut it out you idiot!" Gray yelled. "Brute force isn't gonna do you any good!"

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Lucy asked Gray. "If you froze it, Natsu could melt it!"

"If that'd work, I would've done it already."

Again, the Fire-Dragon Slayer tried getting through. "Would you stop trying to be the hero?!" Lucy shouted. "You're gonna get torn to shreds!"

"Damn it…I don't know what to do!" Erza exclaimed to herself.

"_I said stop_!" Lucy had to restrain Natsu with Bren's help. Natsu froze, and gave Lucy a funny look. "What?"

"AH!" Natsu shouted, causing both the Celestial mage and Bren to jump backwards. "We could use your spirits!" he said to Lucy. "Like back at Everlue's place—I was pulled from one place to another through the Celestial Spirit World!"

Chase was confounded at first—then he realized it was from the mission Natsu and Lucy went on while he and his friends had been dealing with the Wyvern Gang.

"Yeah—but normal people would suffocate! It's hard to breathe in there! Not to mention, a Celestial wizard can only open a gate where they're standing!"

Natsu looked clueless, and Lucy facepalmed. "Let me simplify this. Even if we _could_ pass through the spirit-world, we'd need another Celestial wizard to open another gate on the other side!"

"You're totally confusing me. Just do it already!"

"_I JUST TOLD YOU I CAN'T!_ Not to mention, the very act of a human entering the spirit-world is a _serious _breach of contract. I didn't care when you did it because it wasn't my key—it was Everlue's!"

"I don't get your magic at all."

"Everlue's key…" Happy repeated. "Hold on…" Then, without warning: "AHH!" All of them jumped.

"What was that about?" Chase asked.

The blue cat ignored him. "I just remembered Lucy!"

"Remembered what?"

"_What I was trying to tell you on the way here!_"

"On the way here?" Bren asked. "Like, when you kept calling her weird?

"_Hey_!" Lucy complained.

Then Happy held something up—something that looked like a _gold key_. "Look!"

"How'd you get your paws on Virgo's key?!" Lucy asked, then going in for a scolding. "Didn't anyone ever teach you it's wrong to steal things?"

"But I didn't steal it! Virgo asked me to give it to you!"

"Virgo?" Chase and Bren both said at the same time in questioning tones.

"C'mon guys," Gray said. "We're wasting time here."

"Who's Virgo?" Natsu asked no one in particular. Then: "Oh, wasn't she that big gorilla-looking maid?"

"Apparently her contract with Everlue was broken as soon as he was arrested," Happy said. "Before we all left that day, she came up to me and said she wanted to sign a new contract with you, Lucy."

"Great, I get a big ugly spirit…" Lucy muttered, not looking too happy. "Anyways, thanks for letting me know, but I'll have to deal with her later. If you didn't realize it, we need to find a way out of here!"

"But…"

"_Shut—up_! Why can't you meow like any other cat?!"

"She can be pretty scary…" Gray muttered.

"Must've learned it from Erza," Natsu noted.

"I'm sorry…I just thought that since Virgo can drill holes, I thought maybe she could get us to the other side of the barrier…" Happy wailed.

They all froze. "Wait she can what?!" Chase shouted.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that!" Lucy exclaimed. She picked Happy up. "You're so smart Happy! Why didn't you mention that earlier you silly kitty?"

"Someone was pinching my face," Happy said simply.

Cue apology: "My most sincere humble heartfelt apologies. I promise I'll make it up to you—just please let me have the key!"

"Give me some fish and all is forgiven!"

Erza gave a nod to Lucy, who returned one. Happy handed over the key. "I call upon thee…" Lucy began. "In the Celestial Spirit World…" A gold Magic-Seal appeared. "I beckon you to my side at once and pass through the gate! **Open, Gate of the** **Maiden! Virgo!**"

There was a flash of gold light, and they had to shield their eyes…and when they could look again, there was a pink-haired girl with sapphire-colored eyes wearing a maid's outfit standing there. She also, for some weird reason, had shackles on her wrists, complete with broken chains.

"You summoned, mistress?" she asked. "What can I do for you?"

Silence for a few moments. Then Lucy asked, "Who are you?"

Natsu went right for casual. "What's up Marco? Man you look great—you've lost some weight!"

"My name's Virgo. I apologized for any trouble I may have caused you."

"She didn't just lose weight Natsu!" Lucy shouted, looking flabbergasted. "She's like a totally different person!"

"What're you talking about?" Bren asked.

"A very loyal spirit will to anything to please her wizard," Virgo said simply. "So I try to take on whatever form I think he or she will find appealing."

"I dunno, I kinda liked it when you were all big and tough-looking," Natsu said.

"No, don't do anything!" Lucy shrieked. "I'm your mistress here!"

"As you wish."

"I'm afraid we don't have much time," Lucy said, going right to business. "Can we work out the contract later?"

"Of course, whatever you like, mistress."

"Do you really have to call me that?"

"Would you prefer I call you Queen?"

"No."

"What about Princess?"

"Yeah, that's more like it."

Bren snickered. "Looks like Dax needs to find a new nickname for Jinja!"

"Can you ladies hurry it up already?" Natsu asked.

"As you wish sir," Virgo said…and suddenly there was a burst of dust as she very quickly dug a hole in the ground.

"Wow, look at her go!" Bren said simultaneously with Gray.

"Nicely done Lucy," Erza praised, proceeding to give Lucy the brain-damage hug she had done to Natsu.

"Alright you guys, time to bust out of this joint!" Gray said.

Then they saw that Natsu had picked Kageyama up. "I'd feel guilty if we left him here to die," he explained at seeing their looks.

* * *

"Man this wind is strong!" Chase shouted over the wind.

"It's just like that hurricane at Coastal City!" Bren shouted.

"Huh?" Natsu asked. "Where's that?

"It's nothing!" both controllers said quickly at the same time.

"It's no use…" they heard Kageyama mutter, making them look. "You'll never be able to catch up to Erigor. You can't stop us. We've won…"

Silence for a few moments. Then Erza asked, "Where's Natsu?"

"Happy's not here either!" Gray exclaimed.

* * *

Erigor chuckled to himself. _I see the town up ahead…a bit farther and I'll have revenge!_

Then he heard a yell, and turned to see—

"We've got you now!" Natsu shouted. "Didn't know cats could fly at Mach speed, did ya?"

He slammed Erigor in the face with a flaming foot, sending him into the railway below. Natsu was quick to catch Happy, whose wings had vanished. "Happy!"

"I can't fly any farther…"

"Don't worry buddy, I think I can handle it from here."

"You again," he heard Erigor say. "You're one of those pesky Fairy Tail flies. What are you doing here?"

Natsu, in response, lit his fists on fire. "I'm not lettin' you any farther, ya dress-wearing windbag!"

* * *

"So tell me…why are you taking me with you?" Kageyama asked them while they were speeding along the railway in the Magic-Mobile.

"Because you obviously need a doctor!" Lucy explained.

"And since everyone high-tailed it, you'll have to see one in Clover," Chase added. He crossed his arms. "Don't you have any gratitude at all?"

"I don't understand. Why are you helping me?" the dark mage asked. "We're enemies!" No response came. "Oh I get it," he then muttered. "You're taking me hostage so you can try to make a deal with Erigor. Well, you can forget it—he could care less about me or any of his men."

"Jeez, lighten up dude," Lucy muttered.

"Ditto," Chase agreed.

"If you wanna die, we can make that happen," Gray said nonchalantly.

"Gray?!"

"There's a whole lot to this world than life and death. You should try to look for the positive. You and your Eisenwald pals."  
Then the Magic-Mobile jolted, making all of them fall. "What just happened?!" Lucy asked.

"Sorry!" Erza said.

Bren looked up. "She doesn't sound too good…"

* * *

"I'm gonna burn you and that stupid flute to a crisp!" Natsu went on.

"So you were able to break through my Wind Barrier," Erigor noted. "You little flies can be such a nuisance. Now get out of my way, kid. Or else."

Without warning he sent a gust of wind at Natsu, blowing him into the air…but he came right back and flung a punch at him. _Impossible! He uses his flames to jump _and_ strike? I underestimated his power…this may actually be a challenge._

"What are you doing up there, ya coward?!" Natsu shouted up at him—he was levitating using his magic. "Come down here and fight me like a man!"

"Don't get too cocky, fly! **Storm Bringer**!"

He created a tornado on the track—Natsu was sent flying into the air again. "Natsu!" Happy cried. He tried to form his wings, but no dice. _It's no use…I don't have any Magical Energy left…_

Natsu started falling, hitting his head quite a few times. _Sorry Gramps…didn't try hard enough…_

* * *

_"See this?" Macao asked._

_"Whoa…" Natsu exclaimed._

_"It's called **Purple Flare**. And even though it's fire, it can do a lot more than just burn things."_

_"How come my fire burns everything it touches?"_

_"Because you don't know how to make it _not_ burn. You gotta learn that if you wish for it, deep down, fire will do exactly what you want it too. Once you've mastered that, not even wind or water magic can hurt you."_

_"…that doesn't make any sense."_

* * *

But now it did.

A column of flame erupted from the canyon, causing Erigor to back off in shock. Natsu then slight-shot himself up. "Natsu!" Happy cried.

"That was a close one," the salmon-haired mage said. _So that's what you were trying to tell me…I get it now!_

"But…that's impossible…" Erigor said to himself.

"You must be pretty cold up there, half-naked like that. You want me to warm you up?!"

"Your flames are powerless against me!"

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that…**Fire Dragon Roar**!"

Erigor countered it: "**Storm Wall**!" _I can't believe this kid! Nothing he does makes any sense! Is this what all Fairy Tail wizards are like?_ "Although your powers are remarkable, I'm afraid you're still no match for me. Enough of this cat-and-mouse chase—it's time to get serious."

"I'm ready when you are!"

"**Storm Mail**!" He spun his scythe as a Magic-Seal appeared—and suddenly he was enveloped by what was probably meant to be a suit of armor…made entirely of wind. "Here I come!" He sent a vortex of wind down at Natsu—who countered with a flaming punch. "What's the matter? Can't handle the breeze?"

"You coward! You just had to go and wrap yourself in a wind barrier! But this'll break through it—**Fire Dragon Iron Fist**!" He struck home…but it did nothing. _What…?_ "I don't understand. Why did my fire go out?"

Erigor laughed. "Just as I thought. You're completely helpless without your flames! Looks like I have the upper hand now."

"No way!" He was then blown back a few feet.

"Unfortunately for you, the winds of my **Storm Mail** blow outward. If you get too close, it'll smother your flames—leaving you helpless!"

"Oh yeah?" Natsu asked. "We'll see about that!"


	9. Chapter VIII

_This is intense,_ Natsu thought. _It's like standing in a typhoon! _Erigor chuckled. "It's time to blow your flame out—_for good_!" He sent a powerful gust at Natsu, infused with magic so they were like blades.

The salmon-haired mage managed to dodge, and flung himself towards Erigor, both fists aflame. _Have to—break through!_ Unfortunately, he was sent back towards the railway. _Can't get close enough to land a punch on him…_

"Feeling frustrated?" Erigor taunted. "You never had a chance anyways. But don't worry—I'm gonna put an end to this right now! My **Soaring Phoenix** magic rips everything to shreds!" Multiple violet Magic-Seals appeared in the air.

"That's a dangerous spell Natsu!" Happy warned. "Whatever you do, don't let it touch you, okay?"

"Goodbye, Fairy Tail fly!" Erigor shouted, sending the attack out.

Natsu was indeed hit by it—it knocked him back, sending him head over heels. "Natsu, you have to get up!" Happy shouted. "Hurry!"

_Huh…I'm impressed he's still in one piece after that attack,_ Erigor thought. _Not too shabby for a wizard so young._

He switched to vocal speech. "Once I play one little tune on Lullaby, those old geezers will be joining you!"

Natsu stood. "All you talk about is that stupid flute!" he yelled. "If you wanna get to the Guild Masters, you'll have to go through me!" For some reason he also threw his waistcoat off, which was quickly blown away.

"Tell 'im, Natsu!" Happy encouraged.

"Impossible! How are you even standing?!" Erigor demanded.

"Enough talking!" Natsu yelled. "It's time to start fighting!" A few seconds later he was blown backwards yet again.

To keep from being blown away again, he grabbed onto one of the rails. _What's wrong with me?! I can't even get close to him now! I HAVE TO DEFEAT HIM!_

"Natsu…?" Happy whispered, shocked.

There was a burst of fire, and some nearby rocks actually caught flame—Natsu now had a powerful aura of flame surrounding him.

_What is this…? _Erigor thought. _The angrier he gets, the more intense his flames become! _

"Wow…he's really doing it," the blue cat exclaimed. "He's actually changing the direction of the wind!"

Erigor then realized: _The Flames of Emotion! But how can that be?! It's an ancient magic! Where did this _kid_ learn how to use it?_ He noticed something else. _He's drawing my wind towards him…!_

Happy then had a _spectacular_ idea. "Natsu!" he shouted. When his friend looked at him…he said: "You stink. Just give up and let Gray handle this—you'll never win." Of course, joking.

But Natsu wouldn't see it like that—and of course, he didn't. "_WHAT DID YOU SAY?!_"

"His flames are blowing away my **Storm Mail**!" Erigor exclaimed. "Curse you…"

_Natsu's flames are heating the air around him,_ Happy thought. _The hot air creates a vertical updraft, which also creates a low-pressure area. And wind always blows from high-pressure to low-pressure._

"_I'm gonna take you down!_" Natsu yelled.

_His fire magic is so strong…surely he couldn't be…?_ Erigor wondered.

Natsu lunged at Erigor—who was now defenseless—shouting, "**Fire Dragon Sword Edge**!" He head-slammed into Erigor, also knocking him upwards in a headslam-uppercut combo.

_A Dragon Slayer! They truly exist…!_ Erigor then landed headfirst on the railway, out cold.

"Did ya like that, Happy?" Natsu asked.

"You showed him that if you mess with the Salamander, you're gonna get toasted!"

"You weren't too sure of me earlier."

"Cats have really bad short-term memory, ya know…"

"You said I'd never be able to beat him, so I should leave it to _Erza_ or something."

"Whoa, your memory must be even worse than mind—I said _Gray_, not Erza! But it doesn't matter, because you _won_, Natsu!"

Natsu gave his friend one last narrow-eyed look before saying "You bet I did! Though I'm not really sure how I pulled off that last attack…"

"Guess you're just that awesome!"

"I guess so!"

Then: "Natsu!" It was Lucy and the others in the Magic-Mobile.

"Hey!" Natsu greeted. "You guys just missed me beat Erigor!"

"Aye!" Happy put in.

"I'm proud of you," Erza said while she was helped down by Lucy and Bren.

"You gonna be alright, Erza?" Chase asked.

"I'll be fine."

_No way…_ Kageyama thought, swallowing. _Erigor never loses! _He noticed the Lullaby flute on the ground.

"I can't believe you had such a hard time with this guy!" Gray said.

"I never said that!" Natsu defended. "I took care of him, didn't I?"

"I was kinda worried for a while there," Happy put in.

"Whatever," the Ice-Make mage said. "You look pretty stupid wearing a scarf while you're half-naked."

"Like you have room to talk!" True—Gray had stripped mostly yet again. "Chase, could I borrow your jacket?"

"I guess…but don't burn it!"

"Anyway, well-done, Natsu," Erza praised. "Thanks to you, all the Guild Masters will be safe now." A pause. "And while we're here, I think we should stop by the conference to tell them what happened and ask them how we should properly dispose of the Lullaby flute."

"Might as well since we're so close to Clover!" Happy agreed.

Suddenly the Magic-Mobile blizted by them, and a shadow grabbed the Lullaby flute. "Kage, what are you—?" Chase started.

"Lullaby's _mine_ now!" the shadow mage shouted. "Bad idea lettin' your guard down, flies!" He sped away.

The others all stared open-mouthed—except for Erza, that is. "That_ jerk_!" Natsu shouted simultaneously with Bren.

"_This_ is how he pays us back for saving his life?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"After him!" Erza ordered.

After a minute of running, something struck Chase: _Why are we walking?!_ "**Evo, launch!**"

* * *

"Reports say Eisenwald is plotting to kill the Guild Masters at a conference!" a commander shouted. "We are to rush to the scene and stamp them out! Doesn't matter if they're wizards—show them the might of the Fiore Army!"

* * *

_Yeah, this'll work,_ Kageyama thought, looking over the conference building that night. _Surely they'll be able to hear the Lullaby's song from here!_

Then he realized—someone was behind him. It was an old man, strangely. "These girls are all so lovely!" he said to himself. "Wizards these days are so high-level, on the inside _and_ out! Their glamour shots are the best!" He stood up from the rock he was sitting on. "I don't have time for this! I need to hurry and catch up to those fools before they destroy a whole town!" At that moment, the old guy noticed him. "No, it's not what you think! This is for research!" he babbled. "I've done nothing to be ashamed of!"

"I don't care what you're doing," Kageyama deadpanned.

The old man abruptly stopped panicking. "You've been hurt badly, boy. You shouldn't be wandering around the woods in your condition."

"Yes sir, you're right…" Kageyama trailed off. _Hold on—that's Makarov. The master of the Fairy Tail guild! Why do I keep running into these flies?!_ An idea struck him. "Excuse me." Makarov looked at him. "I don't suppose you'd…care to hear a song? They wouldn't let me play my flute while I was in the hospital. It'd mean a lot to play for someone again."

"That's one creepy-lookin' flute you got there."

"I know. But it has a beautiful sound."

"Hmm…well, I should be going…but I guess one song couldn't hurt."

"Oh, thank you. Be sure to listen carefully, sir…"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Kageyama raised the Lullaby. _This is it…_ But for some reason…he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He just…_couldn't_.

* * *

"There he is!" Gray exclaimed.

"Gramps!" Natsu yelled

"Master!" Erza cried.

Then someone shushed them, and they turned to see…

A cross-dressing old guy, who definitely left both Chase and Bren scarred for life "We're just about to get to the good part," he said quietly. Then: "My, aren't you four boys cute." At that both Chase and Bren leapt into a nearby tree, while Natsu and Gray both leapt into the nearest bushes.

"Who the heck is that guy?" Lucy asked.

"Master Bob," Erza said simply.

"Erza? Honey, you have really filled out."

"You're telling me that weirdo is the Master of the Blue Pegasus Guild?" Lucy deadpanned, hiding behind Erza.

* * *

"Well?" Makarov prompted. "I can't wait all night, young man."

Kageyama again lifted the flute. "Oh no!" Chase exclaimed.

* * *

"Just be quiet and watch," another guy said. "This is getting good."

"_He's _with Quatro Cerberus!" Lucy shouted.

"That's their Master, Goldmine," Erza explained.

* * *

"Well?" Makarov said again.

Still, Kageyama couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't notice the three "eyes" of the Lullaby flute glew purple.

_I can do this…I just have to play one song…and that will change everything!_

Without warning, Makarov said, "Nothing's going to change." Kageyama gained a shocked look as Makarov went on. "You cannot change the fact that those who are weak will forever remain weak. Now maybe it's just me, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I mean, we humans are weak creatures by nature. Our insecurities are the reason that guilds even exist. _And_ they're why we have friends. When we're surrounded by allies, it's easier to stay positive about the future. Think of it this way: if we're clumsy, then we may stumble and bump into things, but if as long as we have faith in our future, we continue marching forward. Our inner strength emerges on its own. But we have to choose that path, and pledge to live our lives to the fullest. Don't let that silly flute get in the way."

At that moment, Kageyama dropped the flute. "I surrender…" he said quietly.

"Master!" Erza exclaimed as she and the others were running towards them.

"You stopped him!" Bren cheered.

"Good job Gramps!" Gray praised.

"Wha'—how did you kids end up in Clover?!"

"Master Makarov," Erza started—then giving Makarov a brain-damage hug. "Your words touched me so deeply that I was almost moved to tears!"

"Well, looks like we got here just in time to see Gramps talk his way out of another one," Gray summed up.

"Looks like," Chase agreed.

Cue the creepy laugh from nowhere. **_"I've grown tired of you cowardly wizards and your antics!"_**

"Something came out!" Happy exclaimed. A _gigantic_ dark-purple Magic-Seal appeared in the air, which glew brightly.

**_"I can no longer hold back!" _**the voice went on. **_"I shall come forth and devour you myself!"_**

Chase gawked at what he then saw. It was as tall as the low lying mountains that surrounded Clover. It had a skeletal form and three empty eye sockets. _Lullaby's true form…_

"It's huge!" Lucy shrieked at the same time as Bren.

"Way to state the obvious," Happy said.

"Wh-Why did a monster come out of the flute?!" the glasses-wearing boy asked shakily.

"That monster _is_ Lullaby," Goldmine explained curtly. "It's living magic, in other words. Zeref's magic."

"Living magic?" Chase asked.

"Zeref? You mean that ancient evil wizard?!" Bren asked in a fearful tone.

"The Black Wizard Zeref was the most evil wizard in the history of wizardkind," Bob explained. "He left this magic behind centuries ago, only to take form now!"

Lullaby turned towards them. **_"Now then! Whose soul shall I dine on first?!"_**

"What did you say?!" Natsu shouted.

"Natsu, Gray, Chase, and Bren! Get everyone to a safe place!" Erza ordered.

"Quit barking orders!" Natsu retorted.

"You're not the boss of us!" Gray actually agreed.

"JUST DO IT!" Erza yelled.

"_Aye-aye_!"

"Great, now there's three Happys," Lucy muttered.

In the distance, Chase heard what sounded like a lot of people wearing armor approaching. Lullaby then blasted a distant mountain into nothingness. The military's retreat could be heard a few moments later. "Well that was pathetic," Chase muttered.

Once the civilians were at a safe distance, the two from Team Core-Tech noticed the Guild Masters were also at a relatively safe distance…which meant that they were going to sit this one out.

Lullaby unleashed a furious roar that made the controller's ears scream in protest. Once it was over: "Hey, look!" Bren said, pointing.

Chase did as such—and saw that Natsu, Gray, and Erza had all started an attack on the wooden demon. Erza had requipped into her Heaven's-Wheel armor, and began slicing furiously at Lullaby.

Gray brought his hands together, and a chilling aura surrounded him. "**Ice-Make: Lance**!" A dozen spears made of ice launched themselves at the demon. It staggered backwards, but quickly recovered…only to be punched by Natsu's flaming fists.

An idea struck Chase. "Bren, the Monsunos!"

"Right!" his friend agreed.

Chase knew which one would suit the situation. Lullaby was just too big of a target to tackle from the ground, so they'd have to settle for an aerial assault. "**Evo, launch!**"

Bren followed up: "**Quickforce, launch!**"

Two small Magic-Seals—one bright-blue and one emerald-green—appeared briefly the moment they spun out the cores, and there were two sapphire flashes of light as the swan-eagle and the antelope-raven appeared, both screeching battle cries.

"What kind of magic is that?!" Goldmine exclaimed, surprised.

**_"What's this?" _**Lullaby asked. **_"New souls to devour?"_**

"Think again, ya wooden doll!" Chase taunted. "Evo, **Shock Wing**!" His Monsuno shot four energy-beams at Lullaby, hitting perfectly.

"**Dispersion Blast**!" Bren added, and Quickforce did as such. Erza slashed wildly as Lullaby swiped at her. Their attacks seemed to only enrage the demon even more, and not doing any real damage.

**_"Pathetic wizards! I've had enough of this!" _**Lullaby roared. **_"I shall end this now!"_** Lullaby gave off an earsplitting shriek. It sucked in a huge breath, and something told Chase that he had better cover his ears.

Lullaby released its pent up energy and…_wheezed_. For a moment nobody moved. **_"I don't understand! Why can't I play my melody of death?!"_**

"It must be because of all those attacks!" Bren exclaimed.

"We punched so many holes in that thing, we messed up its sound," Chase said.

"All that buildup for _this_?" Lucy asked no one in particular. "Talk about going out with a whimper."

"It was pretty lame to begin with," Happy agreed.

**_"YOU DARE MOCK ME?!"_** Lullaby roared. It actually kicked a mountain then.

"Now its really mad!" someone yelled.

"As if things weren't bad enough already!"

Lullaby's eyes glew again, and it began charging up an energy beam…directing it at where the civilians were. _Oh no!_

Right as the attack was _about_ to hit, however…Gray made a shield of ice just in time, which miraculously held up. Natsu ate the flames resulting from the blast.

Chase took advantage of the pause: "Evo, **Lightning Bash**!"

Bren was right behind him: "Quickforce, **Light Barrage**!"

Natsu started running up Lullaby's arm. Erza requipped into another armor: her Black-Wing Armor. "**Ice-Make: Saucer**!" Gray shouted.

"The flames of my right hand," Natsu began. "And the flames of my left! Put the two together…and this is what you get! **Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame**!"

All attacks struck at once…and there was a giant explosion of light, signifying the demon's defeat. "I can't believe how strong they all are!" Kageyama exclaimed. "Is this how powerful Fairy Tail wizards are?"

The dust cleared, revealing Natsu, Gray and Erza standing there—and the two Monsunos landed on either side of the group, allowing the two controllers to climb off.

"We're an awesome guild, aren't we?!" Makarov shouted.

"Great work out there, guys!" Lucy praised.

"It was no problem," Gray said.

_No doubt about it…they're a bunch of fools, but they're stronger than me,_ Kageyama thought.

"I can't exactly say I know what just happened," Goldmine started. "But I think it's safe to say that we can give thanks to the Fairy Tail guild."

"We do?" a civilian asked.

"Even so, I must say…" another started. Erza glanced over her shoulder—and froze, her eyes widening. Chase and Bren both looked as well, and also froze. "_They went overboard!_"

"The conference building's been destroyed!" Lucy exclaimed, staring at the large crater where said building once was.

"There's also a few mountain-tops missing!" Happy added. Makarov then fainted.

Natsu laughed. "We really made a mess of the place, huh?"

"Please, forgive us Master!" Erza wailed.

"I guess kids do take after their parents," Goldmine said.

"They remind me of us when we were young wizards," Bob agreed.

Meanwhile, the others were all running away from the angry civilians. _I guess…_maybe_ I'll tell dad about this when I find him…_

* * *

**BLARG! Finally got done with the Lullaby Arc! ~Myra**


	10. Chapter IX

Two weeks went by. Needless to say, the fight between Natsu and Erza was a disaster, as they both wound up getting arrested for a day.

Good news was, Team Core-Tech had finally found a small apartment that they could afford—although Jinja still shared one with Lucy in the end. "Who would've thought fresh air would smell so sweet?!" Natsu was shouting. "I'm gonna breathe it in all day!" He was also running around breathing fire.

"Shut up," Macao muttered.

"He's not gonna listen, you know," Jinja said.

"Isn't he precious when he gets all excited?" Mirajane asked.

"He seems more dangerous when he is breathing fire," Beyal noted.

"I can't believe that stupid arrest trial was just for show," Lucy muttered. "All that worrying for nothing."

"That's what I'm saying," Dax agreed.

"I get it," Gray said. "They let her _leaf_ early because they were all _bark_!"

"You must be one heck of an ice wizard, because even your jokes leave me cold!" Elfman muttered. Then: "Hey Natsu, aren't you gonna finish going man-to-man with Erza?"

"Why did you say that?" Bren muttered at the same time as Lucy's "Uh-oh…"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Natsu exclaimed. "Hey Erza, wanna pick up where we left off?"

"I'm not in the mood right now," the requip wizard replied. Of course Natsu ignored her, and lunged at her with a flaming fist—only to have her punch him in the gut hard enough to knock him unconscious immediately. "Are you satisfied?"

"And he's _out_!" Happy said.

"Way to go, champ!" Gray said while laughing.

"Guess we know who the real man is!" Elfman added, also laughing.

Mirajane smiled, and then glanced sideways at Makarov. "Sir? Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I'm fine," the master replied. "Just…sleepy. He's coming."

Chase paused. _Holy krag…when did I get so dang…tired?_

"Not again!" he heard Gray exclaim before he went unconscious.

* * *

Chase opened his eyes again very suddenly. "Aw man," Jet muttered. "Was Mystogan here?"

"That _jerk_," Droy muttered.

"Does he have to put us all to sleep every time he comes here?" Levy complained.

"Who's this Mystogan guy?" Bren asked sleepily.

"For one, he's a contender for Fairy Tail's Strongest Wizard," Elfman said.

"Really?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Gray said. "And for some reason, he doesn't want anyone to see what he looks like. So every time he comes here to take a job, he casts a sleeping spell."

"Very strange," Beyal murmured, crossing his arms and looking thoughtful.

"Master Makarov's the only person here who's gotten a good look at his face."

"That's not true," an unfamiliar voice said. "I've seen him before."

They all looked up at the second floor. Standing there was a blond-haired man with a lightningbolt-shaped scar over his right eye.

"Laxus!" Elfman exclaimed. "Talk about rare."

"You're _never_ here," Wakaba followed up.

"And here's another contender," Gray muttered.

"Mystogan's just a little shy," Laxus went on. "You should all respect his privacy."

Then Natsu finally woke up. He stood. "Alright Laxus—you and me, right now!"

"He just got up and he's looking for a fight?" Chase deadpanned.

"He's weirder than Bren," Jinja muttered.

"Hey!" said geek complained.

"Yeah pal," Laxus started, "If you can't even win against the redhead, why bother with me?"

"What are you trying to say?" Erza growled.

"No need to get all worked up Erza," Gray said shakily.

"I'm saying that I'm the guild's strongest wizard!" Laxus proclaimed.

"Then come down here and prove it!" Natsu challenged.

"You come to _me_, little man."

"With pleasure!" Natsu began running towards him, but right before he could even start up the stairs, Makarov smashed him into the floor with a fist—which he increased the size of.

"You're not allowed on the second floor, Natsu," Makarov said. "At least, not yet."

Laxus snickered. "I think you made him grumpy!"

"Shut up!" Natsu shouted.

"That's enough out of you, Laxus!" Makarov warned.

"The most powerful one in the guild isn't a chick or some hooded guy," the blond wizard said. "You wanna know what the strongest wizard looks like? Well, you're lookin' right at him!"

Chase decided then that he didn't like Laxus one bit.

* * *

_**Later…**_

"Hey, Mirajane?" Lucy asked. "I need to ask you something. What was the master talking about earlier?"

"Yes, I would like to know as well," Beyal added. "Why are we not allowed onto the second floor?"

"That area is reserved for advanced members of the guild," the white-haired girl explained. "The jobs that are listed on the request-board up there make the ones down here look like child's play in comparison. They're called S-Class quests."

"S-Class?" Lucy repeated.

"They're jobs so dangerous, that one wrong move could be your last. But with that risk, comes the higher reward. Master Makarov hand-picks the wizards he thinks are capable of handling these jobs. There are only five people in the entire guild that are considered S-Class. That includes Laxus, Mystogan, and Erza.

"I wouldn't worry about if I were you two. There's no amount of money that's worth risking your life for."

"Yeah, no kidding," Lucy agreed.

* * *

"Thank you for allowing me to come," Beyal said.

"Oh, it's nothing," Lucy said. "I think I'm starting to work out how everyone's ranked in the guild…time to start working my way to the top!" The last part was to herself, of course. "But yeah, Jinja's sharing apartments with me. She forgot one of her…cores?"

"Yes, that is what they are called."

When they walked in, they saw an annoyed-looking Jinja. "I told them no, but they didn't listen," she said.

Lucy's eyes darkened, and she ran upstairs—and Beyal heard Lucy shout, "_You guys stink!_"

At seeing his look, Jinja explained: "Natsu and Happy dropped by. And—oh, I _did_ forget Charger! Thanks Beyal." She paused. "We better go make sure she doesn't kill them."

"Yes. That would be very bad."

They got upstairs in time to hear Natsu say, "I've made a decision—our team is ready for the big-time S-Class! "

Happy held up a job request…which had an S-Class stamp on it. "How did you get that?!" Lucy demanded. "I thought we weren't allowed on the second floor!"

"Well, I just climbed the stairs and took it," Happy said.

"_You little cat burglar!_"

"Since this is our first S-Class mission," Natsu started. "We decided to go with the smallest reward we found on the board. But seven-million is still a lot of Jewel!"

"You're not ready for it, though!" Jinja exclaimed. "If the master knew you had that, he'd be furious!"

"What she said!" Lucy agreed.

"Yeah, but I think he'll be proud of us if we pull it off," Natsu countered. "

Lucy sighed. "You know, this may be the dumbest thing you've ever done, Natsu. If you want to rise up in the ranks, you should try following the guild's rules.

"We're never gonna make S-Class with that kind of attitude."

"You can handle this on your own. I'm staying right here."

"But the job is saving a tropical island!" Happy said.

"Really?" Jinja asked, looking interested suddenly.

Lucy looked interested as well…until Natsu and Happy intoned, "It's the cursed island of Galuna!"

"No way! Definitely not going now!" the blond girl exclaimed.

"What do you mean by 'cursed'?" Beyal asked.

"Fine, we're going without you," Natsu said.

"Aye," Happy agreed.

Of course…they left the flyer behind. Beyal was looking at it. He tapped Jinja on the shoulder, and pointed something in the reward list. _A mysterious green substance in a crystalized form…is that Monsuno Essence?! _The white-haired boy looked at Lucy. "Lucy, there's also a Gatekey for a reward."

"_What_?" Lucy snatched the flyer and stared at it. Then she shouted out the window, "Wait up you guys!" She paused. "Um, do you two want to come, maybe? It'll be easier if there's a lot of us…"

Jinja and Beyal exchanged a glance. "She's right," the ginger-haired girl said. "And I don't think it'll be a good idea letting Chase know about this either."

* * *

**_The next morning_**

"Master!" Mirajane cried. "I don't know what's happened, but one of the S-Class missions is missing!" Makarov was silent at first. Then, right as he took a sip of his tea…he spat it out.

Chase looked around. "Hey, where are Jinja and Beyal?" He froze. "You guys don't think…?!"

"Say what? One of jobs on the second-floor went missing?" Wakaba asked no one in particular.

"Those are S-Class jobs," Macao said. "Anyone know who took off with it?"

"Well, it's either someone really strong…or someone really stupid," Laki said.

"I know," Laxus said from his spot on the second floor. "A little blue cat flew up here and ripped it off the board."

"It was Happy?" Mira asked.

"He musta stole it for Natsu and Lucy!" Wakaba shouted.

"Jinja and Beyal must've gone with them!" Bren exclaimed.

"They've got some nerve, going on an S-Class quest," Alzack said.

"I don't know if I'd call it nerve, but it's definitely dumb," Bisca agreed.

"That's a serious breach of the rules," Laxus went on. "Hey gramps!" he called. "A stunt like that'll get you kicked out of the guild, right?" Chase froze. "Not that it matters. It's not like those five losers are gonna make it back alive from an S-Class quest." At that point, he snapped.

"Sh-shut up!" he shouted. "You don't know anything about my friends!"

Laxus snorted. "Just wait."

Then, to Chase's surprised, Mira went up there. "Laxus! If you knew, why didn't you stop them?"

"Oh, lighten up. All I saw was a blue cat flying off with a piece of paper in its mouth trying to act all sneaky. I had no idea it was Happy. Besides, Natsu's not cleared for S-Class. I never dreamed _he'd_ break the rules." He paused. Chase felt a shiver run down his spine—Mira was giving Laxus a…_very scary_ look. "Hah. You haven't given me _that_ look in a while."

"This isn't good," Makarov mused. He looked up. "Well, which job was it?"

"For lifting the curse…" Mira started, still giving Laxus a sideways venomous look. "…on Galuna island."

"_What_?!" Makarov shouted.

"Galuna Island?!" Macao and Wakaba intoned.

"Are they insane?!" Laki exclaimed.

"They're even dumber than we thought!" Alzack and Bisca yelled at the same time.

"What's the deal with some old island?" Dax asked.

"Laxus! Go and fetch them at once!" Makarov ordered.

"Yeah right. I got better things to do, Gramps," the S-Class mage said. "And besides, everyone in Fairy Tail is supposed to be able to take care of themselves. Right?"

"I don't care how you feel about Natsu! Fact is, you're the only one strong enough to bring him back by force!"

Gray stood up from where he was sitting. "Sorry master," he said. "But I'm afraid I gotta disagree with you."

Chase looked at the old man. "Same here. I'm sure Lock'll be able to drag him back here."


	11. Chapter X

**_The picturesque port town of Hargeon._**

"Wow this brings back memories," Lucy said. "This is where we all first met, right?"

"Yeah. We better go find a boat to bring us to Galuna," Jinja said.

"_What_? Are you crazy?!" Natsu asked. "Forget the boat—why can't we just swim for it?!"

"You think _I'm _the one who's crazy?" Jinja gave him a dangerous glare as she said this.

* * *

"Galuna Island?" a sailor repeated. "No way, not for a million Jewel!"

"Around here, it's bad luck to even mention that name," another said.

"Sorry kids, but I don't think anyone here will be willing to take you."

"That island's cursed, so unless you got a death-wish, I'd stay far away."

"Okay, seriously—what's the deal with this island?" Jinja asked.

"Don't know why you'd wanna go there," a third sailor sitting in a rowboat asked, "But no sailor worth their salt is gonna take you to Galuna. Not even pirates go near it."

"Are you serious?!" Lucy asked.

"Looks like we're swimming after all!" Natsu said happily.

"Aye!" Happy put in.

"We are _not_ swimming!" Jinja shouted.

Then they heard a familiar voice say, "We _foouund_ you," in a sing-song tone.

The four of them whirled around. "It's Gray! And Chase!" Lucy exclaimed.

"What are you guys doing here?" Natsu asked.

"Makarov found out and sent us to bring you all back," Chase deadpanned, arms crossed. Jinja and Beyal gained slightly-nervous looks.

"_Why_? We're not in danger yet!"

"If you come back now, you _might _avoid being kicked out of the guild," Gray said.

"_Kicked out_?!" Lucy exclaimed at the same time as Jinja.

"I don't care!" Natsu said. "I'm goin' on this S-Class quest!"

"Man, you're all way out of your league here!" Gray shouted. "When Erza finds out about this, she's gonna be _so _angry…!"

Happy flew onto Gray's shoulder. "Please Gray you gotta save me!" he cried. "I told them this was a bad idea but they forced me to come along!"

"You're such a liar!" Lucy yelled.

"I've gotta prove my power to Erza! So like it or not, I'm doing this!" Natsu proclaimed.

"Master ordered me to bring you home!" Gray shot back. "I'll drag you back to Fairy Tail if I have to!"

"Guys, _seriously_!" Chase said. "Are you _trying _to get kicked out? Then what'll we do?!" He took out Lock's core. Meanwhile, Gray had put ice-spikes on one of his hands, while Natsu lit one of his on fire. The third sailor then spoke up again.

"Excuse me, but are you wizards?"

They all looked at him. "Yes, we are," Beyal said.

"Have you come to lift the curse on the island?"

"Yeah!" Natsu said.

"Well, what he said…" Jinja said.

"Not gonna happen!" Gray snarled.

"Get in," the sailor said suddenly. "I'll take you to Galuna Island."

"Seriously?" Natsu exclaimed at the same time as Gray's "No way!" Natsu promptly kicked Gray in the face hard enough to knock him out. The fire mage then dropped in him the rowboat. He glanced at Chase. "Do I need to knock you out?" The raven-haired teen stiffened and shook his head.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to bring them?" Lucy asked.

"We have to! If they go back to the guild, the next person th-they'll send is _Erza_…!"

"Not to mention Chase, if you go back without us, you'll get in trouble too," Jinja said.

Chase seemed to think it over. "I'll come," he said quickly, hopping in.

* * *

**_That night…_**

Natsu was horribly seasick. "Okay, now I'm starting to get scared," Lucy said.

"Well look on the bright side—at least you're not all tied up!"

"Yes, it is very bright tonight," Beyal said, earning weird looks from the two that had spoken.

Gray shook his head, and to the sailor, said, "This is your fault too, buddy!"

"For your information, my name is Bobo," the sailor said. "I used to be a citizen of Galuna Island. But I had to flee. I just couldn't take it anymore. I should warn you—tragedy befalls anyone who steps foot on the island. There's no avoiding it—that is, unless you're able to lift the curse."

He then moved the cloak he had on, revealing—

Chase went completely stiff in shock. Bob's arm was all purple and mangled-looking. "Whoa, your arm! What happened to it?" Gray asked.

"Is that…the curse?" Lucy asked.

Instead of answering, Bobo said, "We're almost there." He pointed. "_That's_ Galuna Island." Sure enough, there was a lone island in the distance.

"Why's the mountain glowing?" Jinja asked.

"Where has Bobo gone?" Beyal asked suddenly.

"Snowball's right—where _did_ he go?" Lucy shouted.

"Did he fall out?" Gray asked.

Chase saw something more worrying. "Uh, guys…?"

They looked—just in time to see the wave that outsized their little rowboat by about ten times. Instant capsize, and they were swept away.

* * *

**_The cursed island of Galuna._**

"We're lucky that wave swept us to shore," Jinja said with a sigh.

"Yeah…and the boat's a wreck," Lucy agreed.

"I'm not sure I'd call it lucky," Gray muttered.

"Hey, at least we made it!" Natsu said happily.

Chase helped Happy get his head unstuck from the sand. "What happened to the guy who brought us here?" he asked.

"Forget about that stuff for now and let's go exploring!" Natsu said quickly.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"We've been here for thirty seconds and you already forgot the mission?" Jinja asked.

* * *

"Apparently there's one village on the island. It was the village chief who put in the request," Lucy read from the flyer. "So I guess we need to find him.

"Not so fast," Gray said, standing up.

"Just give it up Gray," Natsu said. "You can't bring us back now that our boat's destroyed."

"You're right…so I'm coming with you."

"Count me in for that too," Chase said.

"Besides, there's no way I'm letting you clowns make S-Class before I do. And if you were kicked out, the guild would be pretty boring. Gramps'll be upset, but if we pull this off, he won't be mad at us for long."

"That's good," Jinja said with a relieved sigh. "So let's get this done and over with. The others voiced their agreement.

* * *

Of course they didn't find the village until that night. There was a high wooden wall surrounding it, the gate being closed…also having a "Keep Out" sign on it.

"Well, we found the village," Gray said. "Now what?"

"Anyone home?" Lucy called. "We came here to help you!"

No response came. "Let's bust it," Natsu said.

"_No way!_"

Then they heard a voice: "Who goes there?!"

Lucy replied: "We're wizards from Fairy Tail, responding to your request!"

"Why weren't we notified when you accepted the job?"

"UH, well…"

"Sorry, it was probably just a mix-up with the paperwork," Gray lied.

"Then lemme see your emblems! Right now!"

In response they showed their guild-marks (Jinja's was a bright yellow and on her right arm, while Beyal's was dark-blue and on the right side of his neck). The door was opened immediately.

It seemed that the whole village was waiting for them—they were all wearing cloaks that covered their whole selves. "I am Moka, chief of the village," one holding a staff greeted. "Pleasantries aside, there's something you _need_ to see." To the other villagers: "Now, my people!"

Chase couldn't help but flinch. _Them too, huh…_

"It's just like that guy who brought us here," Jinja said, covering her mouth.

"Everyone here on this island has suffered horrible disfigurement because of this curse!" Moka explained. "Not even the animals have been spared!"

"Please excuse me for asking, but how do you know it is a curse?" Beyal asked. "Is it not a sickness?"

"We've consulted with dozens of doctors, young man," Moka said. "But they all agree—no such disease exists! You see, our symptoms began when the moon was affected by an evil spell."

"What kind of spell?" Lucy asked.

"Since ancient times, this island has absorbed the light of the moon, causing it to glow almost as beautifully as the moon itself. However, several years ago, the moon's color began to change, and an eerie purple glow was cast upon the island."

"So the moon turned purple?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah—look!" Chase exclaimed, pointing. The moon certainly was purple—it had come out from behind the clouds now.

"Man that's creepy-lookin'," Gray said.

"It's the curse…!" Moka exclaimed, sounding apprehensive. "Stand back…the change is about to begin…"

Chase had no idea what he just said…until this so-called _change_ actually happened. From only one limb or something being altered, the whole person changed!

"Okay, that's freaky!" Jinja exclaimed.

"Why is this happening to them?" Natsu asked no one in particular.

When it was over, Moka said, "I'm sorry if our appearance frightens you…"

"It's okay," Gray said. "I'm just completely confused."

"You poor people," Lucy murmured.

"Oh man, you guys look…so cool!" Natsu exclaimed.

Silence for a few moments. Then: "_HUH?_"

"It's so awesome!" the salmon-haired mage went on. "You got horns and stuff! I'm so jealous!"

"He thinks we look _cool_?" one villager muttered.

"No one's ever said that to us before…"

"Natsu, you're being insensitive!" Lucy scolded. "They don't _wanna_ look like this!"

"Seriously? Uh, my bad…I guess we should help 'em out."

"That _is_ why we're here…" Happy said.

Gray sighed. "Get a clue, man."

Moka began to explain. "Anyways, as you have witnessed, whenever the purple moon shows in the sky, everyone in the village takes on a horrific demon form. If it isn't a curse, what else could it possibly be?!

"We'll return to normal when the sun has risen. However, there are some poor souls who could no longer return to their human forms, and they lost their minds."

"That's horrible!" Chase exclaimed.

"The fate for them…the unfortunate souls in the grip of madness…we've no choice but to put them to death."

The others gasped in shock. "But they might change back to normal some day!" Natsu countered.

"If we wait for that to happen, the monsters will surely kill us all. We've tried capturing them, but they always broke free. It's no use. Once it takes hold, there's no way to save them." He was looking at a photo that he seemingly got from nowhere, and looked like he was going to start crying. "I should know…I was forced to kill my own son."

They also managed to get a look at the photo…and they were startled. "Isn't that the guy from the boat?" Lucy asked in a whisper.

Gray shushed her. "Now I understand why he vanished on us like that…he's dead."

"Are you saying we saw a _ghost_?" Jinja asked.

Beyal looked confused. "He did not seem like a ghost…"

"Please lift the evil curse from our island!" Moka begged. "If this goes on much longer, we may all fall victim to it!"

"We're not gonna let that happen!" Natsu said determinedly.

"Not in a million years!" Chase agreed. "We'll fix this, I promise."

Moka regarded them before saying, "There is only one way this wretched curse can be lifted…the moon must be wiped from the sky!"

* * *

"Who knew the moon could be so creepy?" Happy mused.

"Hurry up and close the window!" Lucy yelled. "You heard what the chief said—we have to stay out of the moonlight! You might not care, but I don't wanna risk turning into some freaky monster!"

"I'm not so sure about this job, guys," Natsu said.

"Do these people think we can really destroy the moon?" Gray muttered.

"Yeah…that's downright impossible!" Chase exclaimed.

Natsu ignored him: "How many punches do you think it'll take?"

"_Are you kidding me?!_" Gray shouted at the same time as Chase.

"Don't be stupid!" Jinja said. "Beyal, what about you?"

"Something about this does not feel right," the white-haired teen said, looking distracted.

"We can't take a job and back out!" Natsu said. "It'll make Fairy Tail look bad!"

"They're asking something that just can't be done!" Chase tried reasoning. "I mean, how can you get to the moon anyways?"

"With Happy."

"I don't think so," the blue cat said.

"Not to mention, there's no air on the moon!" Jinja said. "Maybe if we do some investigating…maybe we'll find another way to get rid of the curse."

Then they noticed that Gray had, once again, randomly stripped. "You kids can do what you want. After the day I've had, I need some shut-eye."

"Okay, our investigation starts tomorrow morning!" Natsu proclaimed, flopping on one of the beds that had been set up for them. "Time to hit the sack."

"Yeah…I'm pretty tired too," Jinja said.

"Right. Bedtime," Chase muttered. Beyal nodded.

* * *

"It's so early," Natsu complained.

"Yeah…I'm never up at this time," Gray complained.

"You two kept us up all night with your snoring!" Lucy snapped. "And we're not complaining, are we?"

"I'm considering it," Chase muttered, looking half-asleep still.

"**Open, Gate of the Clock! Horologium!**"

The clock-spirit appeared in a flash of light, reciting, "The time is seven-forty-eight."

* * *

"You really think we'll be able to find another way to lift the curse?" Natsu asked.

"Well, we don't have much of a choice," Gray replied.

"The villagers might think the moon's cursed, but they're the only ones being affected," Chase noted. "Destroying it would mess things up big-time."

"You got that right," Jinja agreed. "Like, the tides would get all messed up."

"Without it, salmon might go extinct!" Happy exclaimed. "And they're my favorite fish!"

"Will you guys keep it down?! We don't know what's lurking out here, so we shouldn't draw any attention! …the lady demands impatiently," Horologium recited.

"You should walk on your own," Natsu muttered.

"He's right, you know," Gray agreed, shockingly. "You just summon your spirits because you're lazy?"

"Listen. This curse is _freaking_ me out. We have no idea what we're up against and I'm scared. …she says nervously," Horologium said.

"_Are you kidding_? This is awesome! S-Class quests rule!" Natsu yelled.

"Yeah…I bet I could freeze that curse," Gray said.

"You guys are idiots! …she retorts disparagingly.

"Aye…" Happy agreed.

Then they heard a loud banging. Something was coming…something _huge_.

Natsu turned his head along with Gray. "What's that…YAGH!"

Chase, Jinja, and Beyal turned to look as well…and immediately saw the gigantic rat. "Whoa! Wh-What the?!" Chase exclaimed.

"It's _huge_!" Jinja shouted.

"What are you waiting for?! Beat it up, you guys! …she yells frantically."

The rat looked like it was going to do something. Gray brought his hands together in preparation for a spell: "**Ice-Make: Shield**!"

The shield formed right as the rat breathed some sort of…gas…at them. And boy did it _stink_! "Oh no, what's wrong? …did you seriously just sneak inside here?" Lucy said while inside of Horologium.

"Aye! …they say."

At that moment, Horologium passed out…and went back to the spirit world, leaving Lucy and Happy there.

"Holy krag that reeks!" Chase exclaimed, using his jacket to cover his nose. And the rat was…laughing?

"Come on Natsu, get up already!" Jinja shouted.

"No good—he's out of it!" Gray exclaimed.

"Alright then, we'll do things my way!" the ginger-haired girl said, taking out Charger's core. "**Charger, launch**!" The armadillo-moose immediately charged at the giant rat…but it was still way bigger. Therefore, it did nothing. "Um…not good."

"Forget it, Jin—run!"

Thankfully Charger was a rather quick Monsuno, but the rat was fast too. Gray intervened—he leaped off, shouting, "**Ice-Make: Floor**!" Hence the spell's name, it froze the ground, causing the giant rat to slip and fall.

"You should've done that in the first place!"

"Shut up Natsu!"

Chase noticed something at the same time as Lucy. "Look, there's some kind of building over there!" the latter exclaimed.

"Run for it!" the former shouted.

* * *

**_The Temple of the Moon._**

"This place is gigantic!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah, and it's falling apart," Natsu noted.

"I wonder how old it is?" Gray asked no one in particular.

Chase walked up to one of the intact walls, which had a bunch of symbols on it—many depicting the moon. "Makes sense," he mused, getting the others' attention. "Galuna used to be called the island of the moon."

"A moon island, a moon curse, and now some weird moon symbols?" Lucy muttered. "What does it all mean?"

"Man this place is a wreck," Natsu went on. He started stomping on the ground with one foot. "This floor doesn't look too stable."

"Then don't be stomping on it!" Lucy shouted. The warning came too late…as the floor beneath them suddenly gave way.

"Natsu you idiot! Look what you did!" Gray yelled as they were falling.

The landing _hurt_, but luckily they didn't break anything. "Everyone alright?" Chase asked.

"I would be if _someone_ hadn't knocked the floor out!" Lucy retorted.

"Here's a thought—maybe if you think before you act, you wouldn't cause so much destruction!" Gray shouted at Natsu.

Jinja looked up. "So…can you fly us out of here Happy?"

"No…sorry," the blue cat replied.

"I don't think Evo would fit out there," Chase muttered. "We're stuck."

"We're underneath the temple," Gray noted.

"Wow!" Natsu exclaimed. "It's a secret cave!" He started running down a tunnel.

"Would you quit running around like a crazy person?!" They ran after him.

About a few meters later, they found him again, staring at something. "Hey guys?" he asked. "What's that?"

Confused, they came forward…and froze, eyes widening. _Whoa…_ Chase thought. It was a _giant_ iceberg, which caused a chill to permeate the cavern they were in. _Inside_ of the iceberg, however…

They couldn't really see what it was, but it was almost as big as Lullaby had been, and it looked vaguely human—except it had horns, as well as feet that looked like they belonged to a large bird.

"What in the _world_…?" Beyal whispered hoarsely, shaking slightly—he obviously knew something was very bad about that thing.

"That's impossible!" Gray exclaimed, sounding shaken. He looked truly frightened as he then said, "It's—Deliora!" The Ice-Make wizard took a few steps forward. "But how? How could this happen? Why is it here?! _What the hell is it doing on Galuna Island?!_"

"Whoa, Gray, calm down," Jinja said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know this thing? Can you tell us about it?"

"It's Deliora," he went on. "The Demon of Destruction."

"Demon of construction?" Natsu muttered, totally clueless.

"_De_struction!" Happy corrected.

"But why is it here? It doesn't make any sense!" Gray shouted.

Then they heard three sets of footprints. "The voices seem to come from down here," they heard an unfamiliar voice say—they all quickly hid.

"Who would come here?" another asked—one that Chase, Beyal, and Jinja found _very_ familiar. It was none other than Commander Trey—he was wearing a different outfit, one more fitting to the tropical climate of the area, but he was still recognizable. They also saw that he still had Riccoshot, Goldhorn, and Venomeleon.

"I hate being awake during the day," the other guy—who had blue hair and _ridiculously_ bushy eyebrows—muttered. Then he said, "So Toby, were you exposed to the Moon Drip? You've got those pointed ears…"  
"I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU!" the third person—a man with brown hair and what looked like dog-ears on his head—shouted. "THEY'RE A FASHION STATEMENT!" Chase could see that he actually had normal ears, and that the ones on his head were accessories.

"Lighten up, I was just teasing you."

"You don't have to be so mean about it."

"Both of you need to shut up," Trey said, looking annoyed.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Jinja hissed.

"Who are you talking about?" Natsu asked quietly.

"The one trailing behind those two a bit," Chase said. "The black-haired guy."

"Moon Drip…could that be the name of the curse?" Lucy whispered.

Then a fourth person—a girl with pink hair in pigtails—entered the cave. "Yuka, Toby, Trey—something terrible has happened," she said.

"What now, Sherry?" the blue-haired guy—apparently Yuka—asked.

"It's Angelica—she's been attacked and now I'm sad…"

"You're moping around because someone beat up your pet rat?" the brown-haired guy—Toby—asked in disbelief. Trey, meanwhile, facepalmed.

"She's not a rat! She's a brave hunter prowling the jungle to protect us!" Then, for some unfathomable reason, she added, "She is…love!"

"Will you shut up with that already?!" Trey shouted.

"I don't know who these people are, but talk about a bunch of weirdos!" Lucy said. "Especially the chick with the pet rat!"

"Judging by the scent I picked up off 'em, they're not from the island," Natsu said.

"And they don't look like they have the demon curse!" Happy noted.

"Intruders? Where?" Trey suddenly asked—they obviously missed something.

"And it's almost time to begin collecting moonlight again," Sherry said. "This makes me so sad…this news will displease the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before he finds out."

"All right, so we find them before nightfall," Trey said.

"Agreed," Yuka said.

Then Sherry said, "Since they've seen Deliora, they can't be allowed to live." At that, the three of Team Core-Tech went stiff. _Not good…especially since Trey's with them…_

The sound of a rock falling in a nearby tunnel got their attention. "Over there!" Trey barked, and they ran into it.

"Nice work cat!" Lucy praised as Happy stealthily flew back.

"Aye!"

"C'mon!" Natsu complained. "We should've beat some answers out of 'em!"

"That wouldn't have been a good idea," Chase said. "The black-haired guy—Trey—we know him."

"Yeah…he's got some of these too," Jinja said, holding up one of her cores.

"Really?" Lucy asked. "So he's from the same place as you guys?"

Beyal nodded. "He is not fond of us. And yes—we should investigate more first."

"Man…this job just keeps getting' more and more complicated," Natsu muttered.

"Right. Like, who is this 'Cold Emperor' guy?" Happy asked.

"Deliora…" Gray muttered. "I still don't understand what anyone would want with it…and how the hell were they even able to _find_ it?"

"Was it hidden somewhere?" Jinja asked.

"It was _sealed_ away, inside a glacier on the northern continent. A decade ago, this immortal demon ravaged Isvan. Countless people lost their lives. The woman who taught me how to use my magic…my master, Ur…sacrificed _everything _to seal it away." Gray clenched his fist. "I don't know if it has anything to do with the curse on this island, but I _do_ know it doesn't belong here!

"This Cold Emperor—we have to find out who it is! If they tarnish my master's legacy, they're gonna regret the day they were born!"


	12. Chapter XI

"You sure this is the demon your master sealed away?" Natsu asked.

"There's no doubt about it," Gray replied.

"Who would bring it from the northern continent all the way to Galuna Island?" Chase asked.

"You don't think that this demon has to do with the island's curse, do you?" Lucy spoke up.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it did," Gray said. "It may be enclosed in ice—"

"But it is still alive," Beyal whispered hoarsely, eyes wide.

"Sweet!" Natsu exclaimed. "Give me a go at it—I ain't afraid of no stupid demon!"

"Violence is not always the answer!"

"Snowball has a point there," Lucy agreed.

Natsu ignored them. "A little fire ought to do the trick!"

A split-second later Gray had punched Natsu in the face. "Here we go," Chase muttered.

"What's the deal?!" Natsu demanded. "What'd you hit me for, Gray?" He broke off when he saw the Ice-Make wizard's expression.

"I don't want you or your flames anywhere _near_ it!" Gray shouted. "If that ice melts and Deliora is revived, there's no way we'd be able to stop it."

"Come on! Do you really think a huge chunk of ice would be _that_ easy to melt?"

Silence. Then Gray finally said, "No."

"You okay?" Lucy asked.

"I'm the one who got hit for no stinkin' reason!" Natsu shouted. "Watch your temper, man!"

"You're the one to talk," Jinja muttered simultaneously with Happy.

"Many years ago, my master, Ur, cast a spell called IcedShell on this demon," Gray began to explain. "Enclosing it in a form of ice that can't be melted. It's so powerful, even the strongest of flame spells can't melt it."

"If they knew that the ice couldn't be melted, then why did they bring it here?" Chase asked.

"Maybe they didn't know, and brought it here to try to melt it," Lucy said.

"Why would they do that?!" Gray shouted.

"I—I don't know!"

"I don't get it. Who would bring Deliora _here_, and more importantly, _why_?"

"We need answers," Natsu said. "Let's go find those guys."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jinja said at the same time as Gray's stern "_No_."

"We're gonna stay here and wait," the latter said.

"Wait for what?" Happy asked.

"For the moon to come out."

"But it's the middle of the afternoon!" Natsu shouted.

"Why does the moon matter?" Jinja asked.

"I have a feeling the curse on the island, the moon, and Deliora being here are somehow connected," Gray explained. "And I heard those guys say something about collecting moonlight."

"You have a point there," Chase said.

"I heard that too," Lucy muttered. "I guess waiting until nightfall is the only way we're gonna find out what's going on."

* * *

About ten minutes went by. Natsu fell asleep in record time. "Must be nice," Lucy muttered sarcastically. "He doesn't have to worry about anything except eating, fighting, and sleeping,"

"Aye," Happy agreed. "That's Natsu for ya."

"I gotta admit, I'm a little bit jealous."

Chase blinked, and looked over to where Gray was sitting all by himself. He seemed to be thinking about something.

* * *

_"Are you gonna be able to keep up, Gray?"_ _Ur__ asked. She turned to look at him. "I warned you, training with me can be tough."_

_"Yeah…but I'll do whatever it takes!"_

* * *

Jinja groaned. "I know I agreed to wait, but this is boring!"

"Aye…" Happy agreed.

"Oh, I know!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed, taking out one of her silver keys. "**Open, Gate of the Harp Constellation! Lyra!**"

There was a flash of light, and suddenly there was what looked like a young girl with waist-length brown hair and was wearing a pink bonnet over it. She was also wearing a long dress with heart prints by her waist, and leather shoes. It also looked like she had small, white wings, and she had a harp strapped to her back. "Oh wow, I haven't seen you in forever Lucy!" she exclaimed.

"Hey Lyra!" Lucy greeted.

"Say, how come you never call me anymore?! It's not fair—I would love to help you out, but you ignore me, you meanie!"

"Meanie, huh?" Lucy repeated flatly. "You were the one who told me you were only available three days a month."

Lyra looked startled. "Are you sure about that?"

"Great, another weirdo," Happy muttered.

"So what would you like to hear me sing?" Lyra asked. "Any requests?"

"Nope, whatever you want," Lucy said with a nod. "Lyra's a _great_ singer," she said to the others.

Chase decided to take her word for it—and he was glad he did.

"_Words are born into air, and quickly fade out in the wind. But they find their way inside you, where they live on forevermore. When the skies are dark and full of rain, look inside your heart. A light so warm will come and glow, shining just like the sun. You__ can see just how much you've grown, how strong you are. A love will open up to you, and it starts from the day that you first heard those words."_

While listening to it, Chase just couldn't help but think of when he was younger, before the whole Monsuno mess began. Apparently he wasn't the only one going through flashbacks: Jinja looked distant, and Beyal had a misty look in his eyes. Not to mention he noticed that Gray was _crying_.

"Gray? What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing!" he defended. "I'm fine!"

"You seem upset," Happy said, sounding worried.

"Well, one of Lyra's talents is singing songs that relate to what her audience is feelings…"

"Did her song make you cry?"

"I wasn't crying!" Gray went on.

"Maybe you should sing something a little more upbeat!" Lucy told Lyra.

"You should've just said that in the first place!" the spirit retorted.

"Jin? Beyal? What about you guys?" Chase asked.

"I am fine," Beyal said, but his tone said otherwise.

"…me too," Jinja muttered. Same thing.

He sighed. "Really. What's up?"

"Well…" Jinja started. She actually looked a little upset before saying, "I'm not gonna be able to see my parents again, don't forget."

Chase flinched. _Holy krag, I can't believe I forgot about that…and Beyal can't see Master Ey again, either…_

"I think we should skip the song," Gray said. "We need to keep quiet. We don't wanna be found."

* * *

They all had dozed off at one point. A rumbling sound woke them all up, however. "Is it night yet?!" Natsu asked.

"What's going on?" Jinja asked simultaneously.

As they watched, a violet magic-seal appeared at the top of the cavern, over the iceberg containing Deliora. "It's a beam of light!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Shining down from the ceiling!" Natsu continued.

"Why is it purple?" Gray asked.

"It must be the moon's light," Beyal said.

"What's goin' on?" Happy asked. "I'm getting' scared, Gray!"

As they watched, the light shone onto the iceberg. "It's shining onto Deliora," Chase noted. "And I don't think it's a coincidence."

"Let's go!" Gray ordered. "We have to find out where the light's coming from!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed, and they started up the tunnel towards the top of the temple.

They passed by a room—the light was shining right through two magic-seals. "Who would cast a spell inside this whole temple?" Gray asked no one in particular.

"We must find out," Beyal said, looking grim.

They quickly made it to the top of the temple. In the middle of some sort of altar, they saw a bunch of mask-wearing people gathered around another magic-seal. They appeared to be doing some sort of ceremony.

There were multiple other magic-seals in the air, in a straight line…and the purple light was indeed coming from the moon. "So they really are collecting moonlight," Natsu said.

"And they're shining it on Deliora…but what for?!" Lucy asked in a whisper.

"It's Moon Drip, a Belianese spell." Surprise—it was Lyra.

"You're still here?!"

"So that's what's going on…" the spirit mused.

"What do you mean?" Chase asked.

"These guys are trying to use Moon Drip to revive that demon in the iceberg!"

"_What_?!" Gray exclaimed. "That's impossible! Iced Shell is unmeltable!"

"I hate to say it, but that's not entirely true," Lyra said in a contradicting manner. "While the Iced Shell is strong, it can be melted using Moon Drip. Focused lunar energy can break any spell."

"Oh no," Jinja muttered.

"Idiots!" Gray snarled. "They've never seen Deliora's wrath!"

"I think what the islanders believe is a curse against them," Lyra started, "May actually be side-effects of the Moon Drip. Concentrated lunar energy can contaminate the body. Those poor villagers have been exposed to way too much of it."

"I'll make 'em pay," Natsu snarled.

Jinja promptly restrained him. "Hold on," she hissed. "Someone's coming!"

Five people came into the clearing. Four were Yuka, Toby, Sherry, and Trey. The fourth was an unfamiliar man wearing a large white cape, with a wide collar, golden edges and fur trimmings over the shoulders over a blue, high-collared tunic with golden edges. He also wore baggy dark pants tucked inside armored greaves. Lastly he wore an ornamental helmet with eye slits obscuring most of his face, which only revealed his mouth and nose.

"What a waste," Yuka said. "I lost so much precious sleep for nothing."

"We searched the whole island but didn't find anyone," Trey added.

"Maybe there _wasn't_ any!" Toby shouted.

"I'm afraid I have some sad news, Cold Emperor," Sherry said. The unfamiliar man looked at her. "We thought we had intruders during the day, but it seems they got away somehow. I cannot speak of love in this situation."

"Intruders?" the guy repeated. Chase heard a quiet gasp from Gray.

"So that's the ringleader?" Jinja asked. "He's trying to act all high and mighty with that stupid mask…"

"I think it looks kinda cool," Happy said.

"It does appear imposing," Beyal said.

"Has Deliora been awakened yet?" the Cold Emperor asked.

"It should be later tonight or tomorrow," Sherry reported.

"Which one, girl?!" Toby shouted.

"The time has almost come," the Cold Emperor went on. "If you see those intruders again, kill them. I didn't want _anyone_ getting in my way."

"They must've been villagers," Sherry mused. "They're the only other people on this island."

"Then destroy the village."

"Isn't that a bit drastic?" Trey asked—the other three agreed with the Cold Emperor, however, and ignored him.

"_What_?" Natsu exclaimed.

"But the villagers didn't do anything!" Chase said.

"Yeah…we gotta stop 'em!"

"It's a shame there has to be bloodshed," the Cold Emperor said.

"That voice…!" Gray said in a choked tone. "It can't be!"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS SNEAKING-AROUND BUSINESS!" Natsu then yelled loudly. He then breathed fire into the air. "_WE'RE _THE ONES WHO CAME TO INTERFERE!"

Of course that immediately got their enemies' attention. Lucy groaned. "Guess there's no turning back now," she said, standing up.

"I wanna help too!" Lyra said. "Want me to sing?"

"No. I want you to go back."

"Aww, you're no fun."

Chase smirked before standing as well. "Long time no see, Commander Trey," he said.

Oh, the look on Trey's face was _hilarious_. "_You?!_" he exclaimed, immediately taking out Riccoshot's core. He seemed to notice something, and smirked himself. "Cute tattoo."

"I know that mark," Sherry said suddenly. "They're from Fairy Tail."

"Interesting," Yuka said. "Those villagers must have gone to the magical guilds for help." Trey threw a weird look at him.

"Don't worry about them," the Cold Emperor said. "Go eradicate the village."

"But why?" Jinja demanded, also coming forward along with Beyal.

"Anyone who stands in my way, whether deliberately or not, is my enemy."

"_SAY WHAT?!_" Natsu shouted, starting to run forwards at him.

"_Why you—!_" Gray exclaimed, also breaking into a run. He got there first, making icicles shoot out of the ground. "Stop this stupid ceremony _right now_!"

Then, to their shock, the Cold Emperor mirrored the action, and the two attacks shattered against each other. "He's an ice wizard too?!" Happy exclaimed.

"Ah…the connections are beginning to reveal themselves," Beyal said.

"Lyon!" Gray snarled. "How could you? Do you have any idea what you're doing?!" _Lyon__…?_ Chase thought. _Gray knows him?_

"Oh Gray, it's been quite a while," 'Lyon' said. "Hasn't it?"

"Why would you revive Deliora?!"

"To think that you were one of the wizards called in to help those poor villagers…did you come knowing you would find me? Or is this just mere coincidence? Not that it makes any difference to me."

"An acquaintance of yours, Cold Emperor?" Yuka asked.

"Do as you were ordered. I can handle the intruders on my own."

"Yes sir!" Yuka, Toby, and Sherry all went off—but Trey remained, glaring death at the three from Core-Tech.

"Hey, get back here!" Natsu shouted, starting after them.

"Natsu, don't go near him!" Gray warned—but too late.

Very suddenly Natsu was half frozen. Chase's eyes widened, and he took out Lock's core. "**Lock, launch!**" he exclaimed.

"About time!" Trey exclaimed. "**Riccoshot, launch!**" The two cores collided in a flash of blue and yellow, and both Monsunos materialized, in battle mode.

"Interesting," Lyon said. "So that's the magic you use, Trey."

Trey ignored him, instead getting right to business. "Riccoshot, **Ballistic Repeater**!" The beetle Monsuno complied, sending an electrical shockwave towards Lock.

Chase countered: "Lock, **Inner Shine**!" The shield formed, absorbing the attack—Lock then shot a beam of pure energy at the STORM Monsuno.

"Happy, get Lucy out of here!" Gray shouted.

"Aye!" Happy said, picking Lucy up with his tail, despite her protest.

Chase turned to look at Jinja and Beyal. "You both need to get out of here too!" he shouted, and after a moment's hesitation, threw Evo's core towards Beyal. "Use Evo!"

The white-haired teen looked startled, then he nodded and spun the Monsuno out, albeit hesitantly. Amazingly it worked. Evo seemed to understand what Chase wanted, as it picked the two up before flying out towards the village.

"You distracted me long enough for the girls, the white-haired boy, and the cat to get away," Lyon said. "Chivalrous, but ultimately pointless. There's no way those four can save the entire village."

"And you better not underestimate the Fairy Tail guild!" Natsu spat. "Fight me right now! I'll take ya _both_ on!" Gray then kicked him down the hill—an easy feat, seeing as he was halfway in a ball of ice. "What was that for Gray?!" Natsu shouted as he rolled down the hill.

Lyon looked at Trey. "Didn't I give you an order? Or do you not want me to help you find this so-called friend of yours?"

The black-haired man went stiff, and he called Riccoshot back before running down the temple's steps without a word. Chase blinked a few times before calling Lock back as well—this was Gray's fight now. But he'd still intervene if he needed to.

"I see you're still as reckless as ever," Lyon said to Gray. "Was he not one of your allies?"

"You and I both know that you could blow that ice up and him with it with only one spell," Gray said in a solemn tone.

"So you chose to send him safely outside the range of my magic. That was a very clever move."

"I don't understand why you're trying to pull this act with me, Lyon! We're not Ur's students anymore!"

"I'm well-aware of that. Painfully aware." To Chase's surprise, he took his helmet off. He had spiky silvery-white hair and blue eyes. "Our beloved teacher is no longer of this world."

"Ur gave her life to seal that thing away!" Gray shouted. "Are you really that callous enough to set it free and destroy her legacy?!"

"Don't delude yourself," Lyon said. "We both know that _you're _the one who killed Ur. _Huh?_ "And yet, you don't seem to feel any guilt. How cruel."

* * *

Natsu managed to get himself unstuck by breathing a quick jet of fire. "Gray you punk!" he shouted. "You're gonna pay for this!" He lit a hand on fire and tried melting the ice—no dice. _My firepower isn't making a dent in this ice! _He gave up on it. _I gotta get back to the village! I'll just have to run!_

Didn't help that he couldn't even run properly with how he was frozen.

* * *

A lone ship sailed through the ocean. Many of the sailors were actually unconscious, except for the captain. He turned to look at the only other conscious person. "Uh, why do you want to go to Galuna Island?" he asked.

"Just shut up and steer!" one of the other passengers snapped. The others began waking up.

"If you drop us off somewhere, you can have the boat!" the captain said. "Please, I'm beggin' ya lady! I've heard that island is cursed and anyone who steps foot on it turns into a demon!"

"We will take that chance."

"But why d'ya have to go there?!"

"When rules are broken, the guilty must be punished," Erza said. "And that is all I can tell you."

"Better do as she says," the other passenger said with a smirk. "Knight-girl here is very serious."

* * *

"Enough with the games, Gray!" Lyon said. "You're the one who murdered Ur, so just admit it. I'm surprised you even have the gall to speak her name!" Without warning he shot a mace of ice at Gray—a spiked one at that. It sent the Ice-Make wizard through a stone wall.

Chase clenched a fist, gripping Nitestone's core. _I'll have to help if this gets any worse…_

"Lyon…" Gray started.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me the guilt is finally getting to you. I'm warning you—_don't_ try to interfere! Whether you like it or not, I'm resurrecting Deliora!"

"I won't let you!" Gray snarled.

In response, Lyon dropped his helmet. "Just like old times, eh?" he asked, hand glowing with an icy aura. "I'm warning you, I've grown much stronger. **Ice-Make: Eagle**!" Multiple eagle-shaped icicles shot at Gray.

Gray countered: "**Ice-Make: Shield**!" The shield formed…but the ice-eagles went around it.

"While your specialty is creating inanimate objects," Lyon started, "_Mine_ is creating living creatures! Did you forget my ice has the ability to move?"

"**Ice-Make: Hammer**!" A giant, ice-hammer formed out of nowhere and started falling towards Lyon…who countered it effortlessly.

"So you still use two hands when casting your Ice-Make spells," Lyon noted.

"Yeah, because that's what Ur taught us!" Gray retorted. "Single-handed spell-casting is incomplete and unbalanced!"

"Well I'm the exception to that rule. I surpassed Ur's skill-level a long time ago."

"Shut—your—mouth," Gray snarled.

"Regardless, ever since we were children, you've never been able to land a single hit on me."

"I'm a lot stronger than what I used to be!" Gray warned, and began charging up a spell. "**Ice-Make: Geyser!**" Multiple ice pillars shot out of the ground, surrounding Lyon. The people casting the Moon Drip spell all ran away in fear finally.

Then the ice shattered, revealing Lyon, unharmed. "Nothing has changed," he said. "I was always the superior student, and I'm _still_ stronger than you. I was able to master single-handed Ice-Make magic…while you still have to rely on two hands. It's just like the old days. We may have chosen different paths, but we're frozen in time. Our rankings as wizards never change. He put one hand into the air, and a turquoise magic-seal formed. Without warning, a giant dragon made of ice shot out of the ground, sending Gray flying.

"That's why I'm resurrecting Deliora," Lyon went on. "To prove that I am more than Ur's star pupil! Even as a child, I've always dreamt it—the day I would surpass Ur's abilities as a wizard. But you ruined it for me, Gray! After she died, I thought my lifelong dream of surpassing her had been dashed. Until I realized…there was one way. If I can defeat Deliora, a demon so strong that not even Ur could vanquish it, then I will have surpassed her power! My dream will finally become a reality!" Chase thought Lyon sounded a bit like Klipse there.

"Listen to me," Gray said, standing up. "That thing destroyed _everything_ we cared about! And you want to bring it back just to prove how strong you are?! That's insane! Please, you can't do this!"

Lyon then sent icicle spikes out of the ground right below Gray—all hit. "Funny you say that. Those were the exact words we said to _you_ that fateful day. Surely you haven't forgotten? It's because you challenged Deliora—that Ur lost her life!" Another attack sent Gray flying again. "I can't even stand hearing you speak her name in my presence!" Another attack with the dragon. "This is the end, Gray!" Lyon shouted.

Chase's eyes narrowed. _That does it!_

"**Nitestone**—" he started…but he never got to finish, as the ice-dragon then slammed into him. Needless to say, it _hurt_! Nitestone's core clattered to the ground.

"Both of you, _begone_!" Lyon yelled.

He was sent flying…and the impact with the ground knocked him out cold.


	13. Chapter XII

_"What's the matter? Don't tell me you're giving up that easily!" Ur said. "Get up Gray! Get up!"_

* * *

Gray then snapped back to reality. "Get up Gray!" It was Natsu. "Man you look rough! And Chase is pretty banged up too." The salmon-haired mage was carrying said teen over one shoulder—he was still unconscious. "He beat the snot out of ya both, huh?"

"Natsu…what are…you doing here?"

"I couldn't remember how to get to the village, so I climbed back up to look for it. C'mon." Natsu picked him up by the back of his collar.

"Wait. Where's Lyon?"

"Dunno. By the time I made it back, everybody had vanished." Gray tried standing, but almost fell—therefore, Natsu put him over his other shoulder. Thankfully the Fire-Dragon Slayer was stronger than most people. "Now hold on. We have to get back to the village before they do."

* * *

_"No way! Deliora is out of your league, Gray!" Ur shouted. "It'll kill you! Don't go!"_

* * *

_"We are _going_ on this S-Class quest!" Natsu shouted._

_"Natsu! I'm warning you—you're way out of your league! Just come home!"_

* * *

"Hey…"

Natsu looked up. "What?"

"I'm sorry…sorry I didn't believe in you guys. I'm no better…"

Natsu stopped. "QUIT FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF JUST 'CAUSE YOU LOST THE FIGHT!" he shouted. "YOU'RE A MEMBER OF FAIRY TAIL! We don't give up when times are tough! So just put it behind you and keep going!"

* * *

"Listen up!" Lucy said loudly. "The people who caused the curse that transformed you are planning an attack on the village!"

"They're gonna come down here and fight us?" a villager asked.

"Yeah. But I got a plan: we'll capture them and lock 'em up until they tell us how to change you back!"

"I dunno…think it'll work?"

"It doesn't hurt to try…"

"Only thing is, I'm pretty sure those other three are wizards! And I know that Trey guy's the same kind as Chase, Jinja, and Beyal," Happy said. "They're gonna be hard to catch."

"That's true," Jinja said. "If there's one thing we know about Trey, he doesn't like giving up either. And he can be really mean."

"You're right…and you're the only ones we've got right now. Well, good luck."

"Last time I checked you're a wizard too!" Happy shouted.

Lucy suddenly clapped. "I just had a brilliant idea!"

"Nothing good can come of this…" Beyal said quietly.

"Aye…" Happy agreed.

"What are all of you doing out here?" Moka asked, coming out.

"Sir, we don't have much time," Jinja started.

"The enemy is going to attack any second now!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Enemy?" Moka repeated.

"The ones who're responsible for the curse!" Jinja shouted. "They were hiding in the old temple out in the jungle!"

"I don't care about who's in the temple!" Moka shouted. "_Why haven't you destroyed the moon?!_"

"Um, it's not the moon causing the cures, actually…but now we know who's causing it!"

"YOU LIE! Do what I asked of you!" The chief was restrained by two villagers, who started dragging him off.

"Chief, please, you have to calm down," one said.

"C'mon, let's go," the other said.

"He doesn't mean any of that," a third villager said to Jinja. "He's just upset. He's been like this since Bobo died."

Jinja frowned a bit…and then Lucy said, "I know how to trap the enemy." They looked at her.

"We'll be happy to help if you need us," the villager said.

Lucy chuckled. "I'm the greatest Celestial wizard Fairy Tail's got," she said. "So why don't you just leave it to me? You don't have to worry—it'll be a piece of cake!"

"Is she not the only Celestial mage the guild has?" Beyal asked.

"Aye," Happy said while sitting on his head. "Someone's starting to get cocky."

"**Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!**" Lucy shouted. The pink-haired maid appeared in a flash of light.

"You called?"

* * *

"Princess, I have completed the task," Virgo said. Jinja couldn't help but feel smug—now Dax _had_ to get a new nickname for her…right?

"Good work Virgo," Lucy said. "My plan is gonna work _perfectly_!"

"I'm not so sure…"

"What did you just say?!"

"Hey Lucy?" Happy said.

"What is it?"

"I really hate to break it to you…but I think you might be stupid."

"Wow, thanks a lot for the encouragement." Obvious sarcasm.

"I just don't think anyone's gonna fall for your trap, because it's the oldest trick in the book!"

"Now don't be silly. A pitfall trap'll get 'em every time."

"I'm agreeing with Happy here," Jinja said truthfully. "You can tell what it is just by looking at it."

"It doesn't matter, because there's only one way to get into the village!" Lucy said. "So the enemy's gonna _have _to go over it to get in!"  
"I still don't think they're gonna fall for it."

"I do not believe so either," Beyal said.

"I never thought it was a good idea," Happy said.

"Yes, I concur," Virgo said.

"Not you too!" Lucy complained. "Go ahead and doubt me, you'll see…"

"Miss Lucy, it looks like there's someone headed this way!" a sentry shouted.

"That's gotta be them! Open the gate!"

"Right!"

The gate was opened…revealing a half-frozen Natsu carrying Gray over one shoulder and Chase over the other. "Hey guys! Are you okay?" Natsu shouted.

Lucy screamed, while Happy, Jinja, and Beyal all exclaimed "Natsu!"

"Stay right there don't come any closer!" Lucy said in a flurry.

"What?"

"_Natsu STOP_!"

Thankfully he did as such. Then: "What's with the grass?" He then stepped on it…and plummeted into the pit.

A few moments of shocked silence. Then one of the villagers said, "He actually fell for it."

"Yeah, I'm sorry we ever doubted you," another said.

"It's ruined," Lucy muttered.

"Very funny," Natsu said sarcastically. "But we don't have time to play practical jokes on each other!"

"Don't talk to me," Happy said. "It was Lucy's dumb idea."

"_I should've known!_"

"It wasn't a joke it was a trap!" the Celestial mage exclaimed in defense.

"Good to see you okay," Jinja said. "What about Gray and Chase?"

"They're both down for the count."

Jinja gasped in shock and Beyal looked startled. "The guy in the mask beat them up that badly?" Lucy asked.

Natsu then noticed something. "Hey, the ice is gone! It must've cracked when I fell!"

"See? Told you the pitfall would work!" Lucy said.

"Excuse me Princess, but I believe the spell was actually broken when he left the caster's range of magic," Virgo said.

"I'M FREE!" Natsu shouted.

Jinja and Beyal, meanwhile, got the other two up. "Oh boy, they _are_ hurt," Jinja muttered. Quieter, she said, "Hang in there, Chase." She noticed something. _Where's Nitestone's core…?_

"How come Lyon's lackey's haven't made it here yet?" Natsu asked.

"You know, that's a good question…" Lucy mused. "They left for the village _before_ you, but you got here first. I wonder what's taking them so long."

"Yeah…and with Gray, Chase, and the giant ice-cube I was goin' pretty slow."

"Okay guys—hurry up and cover that hole!"

"…they're not gonna fall for that."

Beyal looked up, and he gasped. One of the villagers looked up as well. "Over there!" There was something heading towards the village. "It's a giant flying rat! And it's carrying a bucket!"

"What?! But now my pitfall trap is totally pointless!"

"Was it not pointless from the beginning?" Beyal asked, looking mildly exasperated.

* * *

"I didn't realize the poison jelly took so long to prepare," Sherry said.

"We timed it perfectly," Yuka said. "Those wizards were able to make it back to the village.

"We cannot rest until the demon Deliora has been revived for the Cold Emperor. Anyone who dares to stand in our way must die."

Trey was silent.

* * *

As they watched, a drop of…something…fell out of the bucket. "Jelly…?" Lucy muttered, even as it fell towards her. Without warning Natsu smashed her out of the way—the drop fell onto a small plant, which dissolved immediately, along with the ground below.

"That smell—I knew that stuff was deadly," Natsu said.

"That big flying rat has a whole bucket full of it!" a villager shouted.

"They're gonna dump it right on us!" another yelled.

And that's just what the rat did. "HOW ARE WE GONNA PROTECT OURSELVES FROM ACID JELLY?!" Lucy shrieked.

"Everyone, get into the center of the village!" Natsu ordered. "Ready to fly, Happy?"  
"Aye sir!"

Natsu jumped up and Happy caught him. The others did as Natsu said—although three villagers had to carry Gray, while Jinja and Beyal had to carry Chase…while the chief stayed by Bobo's grave. He stated as such. "Chief! That jelly's gonna get ya!" a villager shouted.

Natsu and Happy flew up. "Flames of my right hand, flames of my left hand—you put 'em together…and get **Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame**!"

The fireball smashed into the acid-jelly, punching a huge hole in it—which was over everyone else, thankfully, saving them.

"He dispersed it!" Yuka exclaimed.

"That boy's a fire wizard?" Sherry asked.

"What is that guy?!" Trey shouted.

It then looked like some of the jelly splashed onto where Moka was…but Virgo had saved him. "You wish to punish him for disobeying you?" Virgo asked.

While everyone was saved…the village wasn't. "Holy krag," Jinja muttered, looking around. "The whole village got melted…"

Bobo's grave was still standing…until Yuka kicked it. "The Cold Emperor ordered us to eradicate the village and its people," Sherry said. "We were trying to show mercy by making your deaths quick and painless. But since that didn't work, we'll have to resort to bloodshed."

"Fifty villagers…two wizards…two kids…shouldn't take longer than fifteen minuets."

"Those two aren't just kids," Trey muttered in a dark tone.

"You ready?" Natsu asked.

"Ready," Lucy answered.

"Count again, 'cause there's _five_ wizards!" Happy said, simultaneously with Jinja's and Beyal's "Right!"

At that moment, both Gray and Chase regained consciousness.

"How dare they…!" Moka growled. "Such disrespect!" This time it took _three_ villagers to hold him back, all while he was shouting insults.

"Calm down chief!"

"We have to get out of here!"

"We don't wanna et caught in the middle of a magic battle!"

"Let me help you," Gray said, standing slowly.

"Gray, you can't fight like that!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Don't count me out either," Chase muttered, also standing shakily, although he was wincing as he did so—he had landed head-first earlier.

"No way! Not like that!" Jinja said, going over and shoving him slightly towards the other villagers. "You need to go with the villagers—you're in no shape to fight! We'll handle this."

He gave her a long look before nodding slowly. Then: "Where's Nitestone's core?"

"I don't know…"

Chase's eyes narrowed. "I'll bet you Lyon took it…he's gonna pay for that…let me fight them!"

"No way," Natsu said, coming over. Then, without warning, he gave the raven-haired teen a hard punch to the gut.

"Natsu…what was…that for…?" Chase got out before keeling over.

"Yeah, what _was_ that for?!" Jinja shouted.

"You said it yourself. He can't fight like that. Get him out of here."

Jinja blinked a few times before nodding. "I got him," a villager said, picking Chase up.

"Okay…take care of him."

"Right."

"We're not leaving…until every person in this village is dead," Sherry said. To the giant rat, she said, "Angelica?" The rat made some sort of chirping sound, and leaped into the air, spinning its tail like a propeller to fly. It dove at them, and Natsu managed to roll out of the way—while Lucy, for some _weird_ reason, grabbed onto one of its feet.

"Yep, she's stupid," Happy said.

"More like insane!" Natsu shouted.

"Leave the villagers out of this!" Lucy shouted, banging on the rat's claws.

"What does she think she's doing?" Sherry asked herself.

Lucy then tried a different technique. "Are you ticklish?"

Sherry scoffed. "Try all you want. It's not going to work." But it _did_ work. "Angelica?" The rat's tail stopped spinning abruptly, while it was laughing. "NO! Keep spinning your tail—you have to fight it!" No dice—Angelica began plummeting.

"I did it!" Lucy shouted triumphantly—then she shrieked, "WHY DID I DO THAT?!"

They landed with a thunderous crash.

"Oh great…he's gonna be ticked," Yuka muttered.

"I don't have any ticks!" Toby yelled.

"He wasn't talking to you, you idiot," Trey said.

"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!"

"D'you think she's alright? That big rat might've crushed her," Natsu said.

"I'll go check," Jinja said. "**Whipper, launch!**"

"I'll go too," Happy said, flying after.

"Alright, we'll handle them! Right Beyal?"

Beyal nodded. Natsu then ran up and head-slammed Toby, sending him skidding. The fire mage then tried frying Yuka—_trying_ being the key word. When the flames dispersed, they saw that he had put a barrier of some kind up.

"So you can breathe fire?" Yuka asked. "I see…don't tell me you're the Salamander of Fairy Tail I've heard so much about?"

"No way," Trey muttered, eyes widening.

Natsu didn't reply. Instead he looked back at Toby, who stood up, saying, "I'm good!"

"You know, Toby, Sherry and I used to be members of a famous guild ourselves, so you shouldn't blow us off. In fact, Iron-Rock Jura used to belong to the same guild. Surely you've heard of Lamia Scale?"

Natsu interrupted by trying to flame them again. "Cut that out!" Yuka exclaimed. "Listen when I'm trying to talk to you!"

"Why?" Natsu retorted. "You think I care about which guild you're from or who its members are? We came to help the villagers, and you're the ones threatening them."

"Therefore, you are the enemies of our guild," Beyal said solemnly.

Yuka growled. "Toby, you stay back. Trey and I will handle this." He lowered his voice slightly. "Trey, you handle the white-haired brat."

"Glad to," the ex-commander said with a smirk, taking out Riccoshot's core.

Beyal's eyes narrowed, and he took out Glowblade's core as well. Both sent out their Monsunos, which emerged in a flash of light that lit up the area.

Meanwhile, Yuka sent a wave of energy at Natsu. He barely managed to dodge and breathed fire as a counter. However, Yuka blocked it. "The pulsing energy that I am emitting from my hand disperses all types of magic," he said. "Which means, none of your spells will work against me."

_So that's why my firepower couldn't destroy his barrier…_ Natsu thought. _I get it._

* * *

The fight had gotten intense pretty fast. Beyal could tell that Trey was not all the way used to the new manner in which their Monsunos remained in solid forms outside of their cores—he had repeatedly ordered Riccoshot to attack Glowblade…at the cost of his own magic-energy, leaving him starting to look rather tired. Glowblade was merely blocking each attack, which were steadily growing weaker.

Just like the blockade in Mandala back then…Beyal were using Trey's cockiness to his advantage.

* * *

"I specialized in anti-wizard magic while I was with the Lamia Scale guild," Yuka went on. "And I'm sure you can understand why. No matter how strong they may be, all wizards are powerless against me! Even you!" At that last bit, he threw two orbs of energy at Natsu, who jumped.

"Oh yeah?" He flew forward with a punch ready. Of course Yuka blocked it.

"I told you. Your magic is worthless against mine."

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna let you off the hook! I'll just have to crush you without it!" He then plunged an un-magicked fist into the wave-barrier. "Hey look! I broke through it!" Then he screamed.

"You idiot. You just put your bare arm in a vortex of magic energy. Not a smart move."

Then Natsu put his whole face in it. "Whoa! He's pushing his whole body into the waves!" Toby exclaimed, getting the other two's attention. Both looked startled thoroughly.

"Ha! Your magic is no match for my brute strength!" Natsu crowed. "So what're you gonna do now?!"

"He's crazy Yuka!" Toby warned. "Watch out!"

"You broke through my waves, but now you're stuck, Salamander," Yuka said, although he was clearing sweating a little. "Your flames aren't gonna work now that you're inside."

"I can still use 'em outside!" Natsu exclaimed. "And you just gave me a _great_ idea! **Fire Dragon's…**"

"He's using his flame magic to increase the power of his punch!"

"**…Flame Elbow**!" Natsu, using the propulsion fueled by the flame-jet fired from his elbow, managed to get his fist through the wave…to deliver a shattering blow right to Yuka's face, sending him flying. Yuka was down for the count.

"One down!" Natsu said.

"Two, actually," Beyal said as Riccoshot returned to its core, while Trey nearly keeled over. _He overexerted himself with his Monsuno…we must beware of that,_ the white-haired teen thought.

"Alright! Only one left!" Natsu cheered.

"Man! You guys are awesome!" Toby said.

"You're about to see just _how _awesome firsthand!"

"I'm not scared! Because I'm even stronger than Yuka is!" As they watched, his nails lit up a neon-green and extended into claws. "Check out my **Mega-Jellyfish Paralyzing Claws**! Bet you can't guess what these babies can do!"

"Do they paralyze you?" Beyal asked.

"Whoa, how'd you know that? Hey, d'you have ESP or somethin'?"

"No…" Natsu started. "You're just…real dumb."

"_NOBODY TALKS TO ME LIKE THAT!_" Toby shouted, dashing in to try to claw Natsu. He dodged, but barely. "With just one swipe from my claws, you'll be frozen, waitin' to die!"

"Excuse me," Beyal said, getting Toby's attention. "You have something right here…" He pointed to a spot on his forehead.

Toby reached to feel at said spot…therefore puncturing his own skin with his claws ever so slightly. Subsequently, he electrocuted and paralyzed himself. "That was easy," Natsu said. "Smart trick. Those guys were a joke, eh?"

Beyal didn't respond. Instead, he picked up Bobo's gravestone and set it upright again. "Do not worry," he said. "We will find a way to lift this curse," he promised.

* * *

"Excuse me Cold Emperor," a man wearing a mask and cloak began. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering why you chose to spare the lives of those two wizards, Gray and…Chase, correct?"

"No reason. Except that I feel there is no need to shed any more blood," Lyon responded.

"You say that, but ordering your minions to kill those villagers is a different story. It would appear you have a soft spot for your former rival."

"Nonsense. I simply have no desire to get any more blood on _my_ hands. But if he gets in my way again, I won't hesitate to kill him."

"That's good, that plan."

* * *

Lucy stood up. _Wait, where's that weird chick?_

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" she heard the girl—Sherry—ask in a tear-choked voice. "It's horrible! Because of you, the Cold Emperor will no longer be able to trust me! He won't love me anymore!"

"Love?" Lucy muttered, puzzled.

"And look what you did to Angelica! _I'll make you pay!_"

"Bring it on! Let's see what you've got!"

"**_Wood Doll_**!" Sherry shrieked. Lucy heard a rumbling sound…and turned to see a _tree moving_. Right before it could punch her, however, it had its "arm" blasted off by a beam of energy. She looked—there was Jinja on one of her monster-things—Monsunos, wasn't it? This one was the one that looked like a frilled lizard.

"Hang on Lucy!" she exclaimed.

"So she uses that magic too?" Sherry said to herself. "Perfect."

"Thanks for the save," Lucy said.

"No problem," Jinja said with a smirk, sliding off of the frilled-lizard's back. "Whipper, you do the honors," she said to her Monsuno, who growled in response before charging at Sherry…

…but when it was halfway there, it skidded to a halt. It turned its head slightly—

And both other girls had to leap to the side as Whipper shot an energy beam at them. "Whipper, what are you doing?!" Jinja exclaimed.

"**Marionette Attack** magic," Sherry said. "You like? It allows me to control any living thing. Except for humans, that is…but that beast of yours is far from human."

Again they dodged. Jinja reached for Whipper's core—but she then felt herself get hit hard in the side by her own Monsuno's paw, and the core hit a tree.

"Are all Fairy Tail wizards this pathetic?" Sherry asked.

Jinja knew she was in trouble—Whipper had her cornered. Now that she looked, Whipper's eyes were glowing completely purple. Meanwhile, Lucy had managed to dash over and picked up Whipper's core. _How does this thing work…?_ Then she remembered.

"**Return**!"

And just in time—the Monsuno was about to slash its claws over its own controller's face. Jinja blinked a few times in shock, eyes wide. Then she managed to get out, "Thanks for that."

"That makes us even."

Jinja, meanwhile, was puzzled. _I guess our Monsunos don't have to listen to just their controllers anymore…but in this case that's a good thing!_


	14. Chapter XIII

"You were able to call the beast back, even though I was in control of it…and you aren't even its owner," Sherry said.

"I guess that means I'm stronger than you," Lucy said with a smirk. _Maybe stronger than Jinja as of the moment magic- wise too…_

"Well, I don't know if I'd take it _that_ far. My magic also allows me to take control of any Celestial Spirit you call forth, not just those beasts."

Lucy took out a silver key. "Don't be so sure. I've got a few powerful spirits up my sleeve…"

Jinja was confused. _What's she doing…?_

"**Open, Gate of the Canis Minor! Come, Nikola!**" There was a flash of rainbow light, and suddenly there was a little snowman-like thing standing there—namely, Plue. Jinja still didn't know how it was considered a dog.

"Oh, isn't he the cutest little thing!" Sherry exclaimed. "I'm in love!"

"Would you quite talking about love all the time?" Lucy asked. "It's gettin' pretty old."

"Well, someone's bitter. **Marionette Attack**!"

Plue went rigid, and turned towards Lucy. "Oh no! Not you too!" Plue went in to attack…but the spirit wasn't even up to Lucy's knee. So there was no problem.

"You're kidding me!" Sherry exclaimed in disbelief.

"I _knew_ you'd fall for that!" Lucy said, taking out her whip—not like the little one that Charlemagne had, either. As in, an actual whip. She tried attacking with it, but Sherry leapt to the side.

"You deliberately called forth a weak spirit!"

"That's right. I knew that if I called forth little Plue here, it would make your spell totally pointless!"

Again Lucy tried to attack—another miss. Then Sherry said, "I release you from command!"

Plue stopped abruptly, and began bowing repeatedly in apology. "Aww, I know you didn't mean it. Now go back, okay?" Plue vanished in a puff of smoke.

"**Marionette Attack**! Get 'em, Rock Doll!" Sherry shouted.

"This is gonna get repetitive, isn't it?" Jinja asked. She froze when the Rock Doll was finished forming—it was bigger than a Monsuno!

Sherry was standing on its head. "I love a little game of cat-and-mouse. Let's see what you can do, little mice." _Alright, she reminded me of Dom Pyro right there._

"I don't think I have a spirit strong enough to beat that thing!" Lucy exclaimed.

"And I don't wanna risk bringing Charger out!" Jinja shouted.

"That's it! _Run_!"

They did, with Sherry and the Rock Doll on their tails. "Don't let them get away, Rock Doll!" Sherry commanded. "Let's teach those foolish little girls a lesson!"

"Who're you calling little?!" Jinja asked.

"Yeah! I think I'm a little older than you!" Lucy added.

"It's not a good idea to keep babbling like that—unless you want us to catch you!" Sherry said.

Lucy took out her key-ring. _Okay, which spirit do I have that can help? Horologium—no. Lyra—definitely no. Cancer—I don't think so…_

"You better hurry, we're starting to catch up!" Sherry taunted.

They barely managed to avoid getting stepped on…and then the little ledge the two Fairy Tail girls were on broke off. They were stunned momentarily—but thankfully regained motion in time to avoid being splattered on the ground by the Rock Doll. "There's nowhere to run now!" Sherry said.

Lucy froze. _The ocean…I could summon Aquarius from here…_

"Uh, Lucy?" Jinja said nervously.

Sherry laughed as the Rock Doll approached them. "Looks like the cat's going to finally catch the mice!" she said.

_Water can't destroy that thing…besides, Aquarius would just wash me away with them—wait a second! _

"I'm going to crush you both like bugs," Sherry went on. "Sorry—no love for you!"

The Rock Doll tried smashing them, but again they dodged it. "Wash me away—that's it!" Lucy exclaimed. "**Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!**"

"_Aquarius_?!" Sherry exclaimed. "How does a weakling like you have a spirit that powerful?"

"That girl there is our enemy!" Lucy shouted. "Get her!"

"Ugh…"

"_I don't have time to deal with your bad attitude! Get over there and get her! Now!_"

"Well, I see you're just as annoying as ever. No wonder you still don't have a boyfriend."

"Why do you have to keep rubbing it in like that?!"

Sherry interrupted: "**Marionette Attack**! You will now do as I command!"

"_What_?" the spirit asked.

"She's under _my _spell, so she won't do your bidding anymore," Sherry taunted Lucy. Something told Jinja to step away from the oncoming battle, so she did. "Might as well send her back."

"No way," Lucy said. "Aquarius is still my ace in the hole."

"I bet you won't think that when the sea washes away your pitiful existence! Now Aquarius, get rid of this stupid girl once and for all!"

"_WHAT?_" the spirit asked again. She charged up her **Giant Wave Attack**. "I was already planning on it!"

Jinja then realized—there was no way she'd be able to avoid getting soaked. Neither could Sherry. Worst part was that they were stuck in a water tornado, going around in circles really fast.

"Hah," Aquarius said to herself. "And here I thought the blond girl was stupid. I can close my own gate, thank you very much. Buh-bye!" With that, she vanished.

The water tornado also vanished. _I think I'm gonna stay here for a while…_ Jinja thought dizzily. "Leave it to Aquarius to hurl waves at friend and foe alike!" Lucy said shakily.

"I hate myself for allowing you to trick me again," Sherry said in the same tone. "But it doesn't matter since she wasn't strong enough to destroy my Rock Doll!"

"And so what? That puppet of yours can't do anything if you're not there to control it! All I had to do was get you away from that thing and it worked because now you're too dizzy to walk in a straight line—"

They then crashed into each other, and immediately instigated a fistfight. Jinja simply watched for a while before trying to stand up. _Alright, I better finish this myself._ Albeit shakily, she ran up and landed a hard blow on Sherry.

"How can this be?" the pink-haired girl exclaimed. "I never lose!"

"Well guess what? You just did," Jinja said with a smirk.

"To two wizards from Fairy Tail!" Lucy shouted happily. Behind them, the Rock Doll fell apart.

"Angelica…avenge your master's downfall," Sherry said before passing out.

Jinja went stiff. _Isn't that the rat's name…?_

Said rat then suddenly was flying at them—but right before it body-slammed them, someone slashed at it. Namely, Erza.

"Erza!" Lucy exclaimed. The scarlet-haired woman turned to give them an icy glare.

Both other girls froze. "Forgot," Lucy whispered. "She's mad at us because we broke guild rules by taking an S-Class mission…"

The disappointment radiated off of the S-Class mage like sunlight in a desert at noon in the middle of the summer. "Lucy, Jinja," she started. "I assume you both know why I'm here. Don't you?"

"To take us back?" Jinja said in a small voice. Not like her, but she knew that Erza could easily pummel her, Charger, _and_ Whipper without breaking a sweat.

"Promise you won't hurt me?" Lucy squeaked in a small voice. That sounded incredibly pathetic.

"Hey there you guys are!" Happy called from above. "I've been looking all over for you! I'm glad you're both okay!" He flew down…_then_ noticed Erza standing in front of him. She still caught him by the tail.

"Now, where are Natsu and Beyal?" Erza asked.

"Look, we're sorry we came here without permission, but some really awful things have been happening here on this island!" Jinja exclaimed. "There's this freako that's trying to revive a frozen demon! And the island's villagers are suffering because of the magic the guy's lackeys are using! They've been turned into monsters!"

Lucy picked up in a quieter tone. "We just thought…we might be able to help them."

"None of that is my concern," Erza said indifferently.

"Please Erza, let us finish this job!" Jinja shouted. "We can't just leave them like this!"

Very suddenly she found that she had a sword-point in her face. "I don't think you understand," Erza said severely. "The five of you have betrayed Master Makarov. You'll be lucky if you walk away with your lives."

_Yep, I'm scared now._

* * *

Chase forced his eyes open, and he sat up slowly. A few feet away, Gray did as well. "Where are we?" the latter asked.

"No clue," Chase answered, standing and putting his jacket on. They both walked out—it looked like they were in a makeshift camp or something.

"Oh thank goodness," they heard a villager say. "I'm glad you both woke up."

"What is this place?" Gray asked.

"It's a storage area that's not too far from the village. Everything was destroyed when they attacked last night, so we decided to come here for shelter."

"The whole village got wrecked? That's awful!" Chase exclaimed. Then he remembered—Lyon ordered it. _I can't believe it…they actually did that._

"You know, it was a miracle that Natsu, Lucy, Jinja, and Beyal were here," the girl went on. "Thanks to them, everyone was able to make it out alive."

"Are they around here somewhere?"

"Yes. They actually wanted me to show you to their tent when you both woke up."

"Which tent?" Gray asked.

The girl pointed. "That big one, right over there."

In response the two walked over to it, and when they got in—

First they saw Dax tossing Airswitch's core up and down. Then they saw Erza, who was glaring death at them, with Lucy, Jinja, and Happy tied up nearby. "You made me wait," the requip-mage growled. "Not smart."

"Erza?!" both boys exclaimed. "What're you doing here?" Gray asked.

"And why are they tied up?" Chase asked.

"Lucy and Jinja have gotten me up to speed with everything that's happened," Erza said. "I thought you both were sent here to _stop _Natsu and these fools." She stood up. "Needless to say, I'm disappointed."

"Where is Natsu, anyway?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, and Beyal too!" Chase put in.

"That's something we'd all like to know."

"The last time I saw them, they were fighting against the Cold Emperor's lackeys," Lucy mumbled.

"But when we went back to where the village was, there was no one there," Jinja added. "I just hope they know what they're doing…"

"After that Erza demanded to see you two, but we didn't know where you were—"

"So I did some scouting from above and saw that the villagers came here," Happy finished.

"Okay. We're going to search for Natsu and Beyal, and then we're going back to the guild," Erza said. Gray was quick to object.

"We're not leaving yet!" he said. "If those two filled you in, then you know exactly what's going on right now!"

"And what would be your point?"

* * *

Natsu yawned. "We finally come up with the perfect plan, and then I go and oversleep. Why couldn't you wake me up, Beyal?"

"I tried to," the white-haired teen replied honestly.

"All right then—let's do this!"

"Yes."

* * *

"I came here solely to apprehend these fools for breaking the rules of the guild," Erza said stoically. "I'm not interested in anything other than that."

"Rules?" Chase exclaimed. "Have you even _seen_ what's happened to these people?!"

"I have."

"And you're still just gonna turn your back on them."

"Their request is posted on the boards of every guild hall. The villagers would be better served by wizards who are cleared for S-Class. You're not qualified."

"How can you be so heartless?" Gray demanded. Erza turned her head slightly to glare at him.

"What did you say?" she demanded.

"That's not the way to speak to the great Erza!" Happy shouted worriedly.

"You suck-up," Lucy muttered simultaneously with Jinja.

"Have you both chosen to defy the guild's rules as well?" Erza asked, materializing her sword. She pointed the tip towards Gray's throat. "You both will face the same punishment!"

Then, to their shock, Gray actually grabbed the sword, even though it caused his hand to start bleeding. He gave Erza an even-yet-icy look. She returned it. Then, to their shock, Gray touched the tip of the sword point right over his heart. "Do what you must," he said in a low tone. "For me, there's no other choice to be made. I can't just walk away from this."

The others watched, shocked, as he let go of the sword and started walking out. Before leaving, he paused and said, "I'm seeing this through to the end. And you can't stop me."

A few moments of tense silence went by. Chase watched Erza carefully—who suddenly turned towards the three that were tied up, who all went stiff.

"Please don't get mad at us!" Lucy said quickly.

"We can't control what Gray does!" Jinja added

"He's only acting like that 'cause he lost a fight to his old friend!" Happy said.

Without warning, Erza cut the ropes binding them. "These events are intolerable," she said. "We'll deal with the immediate problems for now."

"Thank you!" all three of the now-free ones chorused.

"This doesn't change anything. You're still going to face punishment."

"Yes ma'am." Meanwhile, Dax—who had watched in silence—smirked a bit. _I had a feeling it'd end like that._

* * *

"How pathetic. You two are the only one still standing?"

"Afraid so," Trey muttered, although he was still a bit shaky from the night before—he had to remember that fact now…

"Those Fairy Tail wizards—they're quite impressive," Lyon admitted, sitting down again.

"Hey, can we keep that whole 'shocking myself' thing a secret?" Toby asked.

"This turn of events could put the revival of Deliora in jeopardy," the mask-wearing man said suddenly, coming into the room.

"Zalty. You're stealthy as ever," Lyon greeted.

"If all goes as planned, the demon should awaken at some point tonight," Zalty said. "But we have to keep an eye on those wizards. If they were to interrupt the Moon Drip ceremony, then Deliora would remain forever entombed in ice. Salamander and Titania are quite powerful—they could easily foil our plans. As with those other children and that strange magic of theirs."

"As always, you are well-informed," Lyon said. "No mind. I can't say I'm worried. Those fools may be strong, but they're no match for me."

"I was hoping you'd say that. That's very reassuring to hear. But still, allow me the honor of joining you in battle for old times' sake."

"Hold up, I didn't know _you _were a wizard too!" Toby exclaimed.

"Yes. It's been a while since I've used it…but I've dabbled in a particular form of Lost Magic."

"Sure. We could use another wizard," Lyon approved. Then the temple started shaking.

"What the heck's going on?!" Trey shouted.

"It's an earthquake!" Toby yelled.

"I don't think so," Lyon said.

* * *

Below the temple, Natsu smashed two pillars successfully, while Beyal ordered Arachnablade to knock three others down. The Fire-Dragon Slayer then breathed a blast of fire at the "ceiling" to them, which was the floor to the other four.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" Lyon demanded.

"We're in trouble," Toby muttered.

"Not them!" Trey exclaimed.

_I should've known Salamander would make the first move,_ Zalty thought. _And that little monk—that's a surprise. Here I thought all monks were peaceful._ Out loud, he said, "It appears we have visitors, sir."

Natsu laughed. "You know, usually I end up breaking stuff by accident," he said. "It's kinda funny on how hard it is when I'm trying to do it on purpose."

"What are you doing here?" Lyon asked.

"We're knocking this place over," Natsu replied firmly.

"Then you will never free the demon underground," Beyal finished in the same tone, giving Lyon an icy look.

"Insolent fools—just who do you think you are?!" Lyon demanded. "You dare challenge me?"

"What are they doing?" Trey asked.

"Evidently, it seems those boys are the reason the temple is now tilted," Zalty explained. "I assumed that they destroyed the support pillars on one side; doing so caused the temple to shift in that direction. This will, in turn, prevent any moonlight from shining directly on Deliora. It's an ingenious plan. I'm actually quite surprised that dolt and the naïve little one came up with that plan."

"So you gonna fight me or what?" Natsu demanded.

"He can shoot flames from his feet?" Lyon mused.

"When we fought him, he could shoot flames from all over!" Toby said.

Natsu then rocketed up, head-slamming Lyon—but it wasn't the real one, as it shattered into ice. _What the?!_ He turned just in time to see the real Lyon say, "**Ice-Make: Eagle**! You can't dodge them in mid-air!"

Natsu still managed it—by breathing a short jet of flame to knock himself onto the ground. Then, he sent a flame jet from his feet towards Lyon, although it barely missed. _What kind of ridiculous magic is this? _Lyon thought.

"**Fire Dragon Roar**!" Natsu shouted—but suddenly the ground beneath him seemed to decay, and he fell straight down before he had time to attack.

"Very fortunate, Cold Emperor," Zalty said. "Luck is on your side."

"Can we keep the whole 'Toby got charred' thing a secret too?" Toby asked while smoldering.

"What was that?" Trey asked.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"That hole in the floor! It wasn't there a minute ago!"

"Don't you have ever the watchful eye…commander." Trey went stiff. "Please allow me to explain—you're the only one strong enough to defeat Deliora, so it's imperative you remain safe until its resurrection."

An icy aura suffused the room. "Are you suggesting that I could fall to such paltry magic?" Lyon asked in a dangerous tone. Pretty soon the whole room was iced over. "The three of you, leave. I can take care of this myself." Meanwhile, Natsu had managed to climb back up the hole he fell down, while Beyal managed to maneuver his way up the other one. "Once I finally defeat the demon, everyone will worship my name—Cold Emperor Lyon. I've worked too hard to let brats like them tarnish it."

"As you wish," Zalty said.

"So you are trying to defeat the demon?" Beyal asked.

* * *

"So _that's_ what he's trying to do?!" Chase exclaimed in shock.

"He's seriously trying to fight that nasty thing?" Dax asked.

Gray didn't respond.

* * *

"The thing looks half-dead already!" Natsu exclaimed. "So lemme get this straight. You're going through all this trouble to melt this ice just so you can fight it?"

"That seems very trivial," Beyal spoke up, crossing his arms.

An icy aura surrounded Lyon. "I must rise above Ur's legacy," he said. He sent more ice-eagles at them. "It is so my dream can begin anew!"

"Then why can you not challenge your teacher directly?"

"Do you know nothing? Ur is already dead!" Beyal paused. _When Gray said that his mentor put her life at risk…he meant to say she was dead,_ he realized. Natsu voiced said fact. "She'd still be alive if it wasn't for Gray!"

The mistake proved costly, as ice-eagles slammed into both of them. Natsu had simply blocked his, but Beyal had no means to do so—therefore, he was slammed into an iced wall, hard. He coughed a bit, and glanced up. "I have no idea what went on in your past," Natsu growled. "But you're being a big pain in the rear right now!" He lit a fist on fire. "You're going to wake up—because I'm gonna rake you over the coals! _Very hot_ coals!"

* * *

"Even when we were kids, Lyon always has wanted to surpass Ur's magic abilities. Since she's gone and he can't challenge her directly, he's trying to surpass her by defeating an enemy she couldn't."

"In other words, Deliora," Jinja said.

"Exactly."

"I guess that's the only way to be better than someone who's kicked the bucket," Dax said.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Then Gray said, "No…there's something that he doesn't know."

"What?" Chase asked.

"I kept it secret—Ur made me promise to never let him know. But I have to—Ur may not be with us…but she's still alive."


	15. Chapter XIV

**I swear, this chapter is 90% flashbacks. ~Myra  
**

* * *

"The truth is, Ur's still alive."

"What do you mean?" Erza asked.

Gray hesitated before going on. "It's been ten years…Deliora attacked my hometown. I've never seen such destruction. The whole place was wiped out in less than a day."

Jinja covered her mouth in shock. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a queer expression on Dax's face—one she'd never thought she'd see on him. He noticed her look, and wiped it quick, however. _Did…something happen to his hometown, too?_

* * *

_Clouds covered the sky. A young woman made her way through the rubble, looking around. A young boy with spiky-white hair walked beside her. _I've heard of Deliora's destructive power…_ she thought. _But I never expected _this_.

_A movement got her attention. "Lyon! We have a survivor!" she exclaimed. Lyon turned around, eyes wide in surprise, and ran over to where she was pointing._

_"Hey! Are you alright?" he asked._

* * *

"Ur and Lyon found me. They pulled me from the rubble…"

* * *

_"Deliora…" Gray muttered. "You're gonna pay for this. I'll stop you—I swear it!"_

* * *

"That vow…is how it all began."

* * *

_"Are you gonna be able to keep up, Gray?" Ur asked. She turned to look at him. "I warned you, training with me can be tough."_

_"Yeah, but I'll do whatever it takes! I have to become stronger than Deliora! 'Cause someday, I'm gonna beat him!" Gray vowed._

_"Yeah right," Lyon muttered._

_"Okay," Ur said. "Let's get started, then."_

_"Fine. Ready when you are," Gray said. Then: "Whoa! What are you _doing_?"_

_"The first step is to strip."_

_"Are you kidding me? You're crazy if you think I'm gonna strip in the snow! Back me up, Lyon!" But to his shock, the white-haired boy had done the same as Ur. "Now _you're _naked, too?!"_

_Thank God he had kept his undergarments at least—even more so thankfully with Ur. "Just hurry up and do it, kid," Lyon said. He clenched a fist. "C'mon, you wanna learn magic, right?"_

_"I can't believe your making me do this! It better not be some kind of joke!"_

_Of course, he wound up doing it anyway. "Atta boy, Gray," Ur said. "If you really wanna control the cold, you have to be one with it. You'll get used to it soon."_

_"I'm already used to it!" Lyon bragged._

_"Yeah right," Gray muttered. "You're shivering as much as I am."_

_"Let's go boys!" Ur said._

_"I thought you were gonna teach me magic!"_

_"Just run! I don't wanna do this beginner stuff again either!"_

* * *

_"I practice maker-magic," Ur explained. "Out of all the magical arts, I feel this one gives you the most creative freedom. In fact, every wizard who practices maker-magic has their own unique style. If you train hard, then someday you'll create a style all your own."_

* * *

_"I see you have a new disciple," the shopkeeper noted._

_"His name's Gray," Ur said. "He's a rebel and doesn't wanna do what he's told."_

_"The other boy's name is Lyon, right? I bet when those two grow up, they're gonna be quite the lookers!"_

_"You think so?" Ur asked while eating an apple. _

_"Yeah. In fact, would you mind saving one of 'em for me?"_

_"Those little headaches? You're welcome to 'em."_

_"You know, you're not gonna have much luck with the men in town if they think you have kids."_

_Ur__ paid for the groceries. "I don't need romantic advice."_

_"You're not getting any younger, Ur. And you deserve to be happy. Promise you'll give it a _little _thought?"_

_"Yeah, sure."_

* * *

_Tell me somethin'," Lyon asked. "How long do you think it'll take us to become stronger than Ur?"_

_"How the heck should I know?" Gray responded._

_Lyon__ looked up. "She's the best wizard around," he said. "But my dream is to someday be better than she is."  
"Can't stop running your mouth, can ya? Do you really think I care about that?"_

_"Why are you always so grumpy?"_

_"'Cause you're all 'master this' and 'master that'…it's bugging me."_

_"She told me she decided to teach you because she sees some kind of darkness inside of you."_

_"Well, she's probably right. Especially after everything I've been through."_

_"Well, she wants to help you get rid of it."_

_"…I'll do that on my own. Just watch." He clenched a fist. "Right now, all I care about is getting revenge on Deliora. And one I've learned enough magic, I'm _so _out of here."_

_He was unprepared for Ur to clout him on the head with a fist. "Keep talking that way 'bout me and you're _dead_, kid," she warned. Lyon chuckled._

_"Sorry…"_

* * *

_"So when're you gonna start teach us some powerful magic?" Gray asked._

_"I already have," Ur replied._

_"I'm not talking about that maker-magic stuff. As far as I can tell, that junk's completely useless."  
Ur stopped walking, and looked at him. He returned the look for a bit before looking away. "Look me in the eyes," Ur said. He didn't listen. "Gray." He looked. "I told you—maker-magic gives you creative freedom. Once you're able to create your own style, you can make it as powerful as you want."_

_He looked to the side again. "You keep saying the same thing over and over again."_

_Then: "Gray, we're in public! Put your clothes back on!"_

_Gray had subconsciously stripped (for the first time). "NOW I HAVE THIS WEIRD HABIT 'CAUSE OF YOU!" he accused._

_Ur__ promptly gave him an uppercut hard enough to send him flying. "Don't you blame it on me!" she shouted. Lyon and a few civilians broke out in laughter in response. "Let's get out of here," Ur muttered, grabbing Gray by the arm._

_"O-kay…"_

* * *

_"Well _that _was embarrassing," Ur said._

_"Hilarious!" Lyon said with a laugh._

_"Shut up, brown-noser," Gray said._

_"You shut up, streaker!"_

_A caravan went by. "Have you heard any news about Deliora's whereabouts?" they heard someone ask._

_"Yeah, I hear it made its way toward the northern continent," someone replied. "Somewhere around Brago."_

_"I hope they don't suffer the same fate as Isvan…"_

_Gray stopped, dropping his bag. "What's wrong?" Ur asked. _

_"That's where it is," Gray muttered. "In Brago…"_

* * *

_"No way!" Ur shouted. "Deliora is out of your league, Gray! It'll _kill_ you! Don't go!"_

_"Beg all you want—you're not gonna change my mind!" Gray retorted. "Don't you understand? That demon took my mom and dad away from me! I have to get revenge!"_

_"Leave, and you're no longer my student."_

_"Fine!" Gray continued walking. "I'm better off without you. And if that thing kills me, it'll be your fault!"_

_"Great…" Ur muttered._

* * *

"Uh…" Lucy muttered, tilting her head to the left.

"Is it just me…or does the temple look a little _crooked_?" Jinja asked, doing the same.

"What happened to it?" Happy asked, also tilting his head.

"I'm guessin' Natsu," Gray said.

"Me too," Erza agreed.

"He's the only person who'd do something that crazy."

"Maybe Beyal too?" Chase added.

"Keep dreamin', Lil' Suno," Dax said. "Monkfish would never do somethin' like that."

"It's a pretty great idea if he—or they—did it on purpose," Gray admitted. "Since the temple's tilted like that, the moonlight won't hit Deliora."

"Are you saying his habit of destroying stuff actually came in handy for once? Lucy asked in complete disbelief.

"My head's stuck!" Happy wailed. "Looking at the temple crooked hurt my neck!"

"Hold on," Jinja muttered, going to help him.

Suddenly Erza stiffened, and shouted "Watch out!" before knocking Lucy, Happy, and the three from Team Core-Tech into the bushes—out of the way of spinning flying blades that someone had thrown. "Who's there?!" she demanded.

The others, meanwhile, all hit trees.

It was those masked people from the temple. "We've tracked you down!" one said in a muffled tone—they were all wearing helmets. "Fairy Tail! We won't allow you to interfere!"

"Not these guys," Gray groaned.

"Lyon's minions, I presume?" Erza asked.

"They're all around us!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Aye…"

"I can handle this myself!" Erza said, materializing her sword.

"You sure?" Gray asked.

"I'll take care of them. You go and settle things with Lyon."

Gray nodded. "We'll fight with her!" Lucy said, taking her whip out. Jinja and Dax both nodded, each taking out a core. "You just go and do what you gotta do."

"Aye!"

"Thanks you guys," Gray said. _I gotta tell Lyon that Ur is still alive! The only person who can stop him…is me. _He was well-aware that Chase was behind him.

* * *

_"**Ice-Make: Rose Garden**!" Ur shouted. The spell enveloped Deliora as the demon was trying to charge up its devastating beam attack—but it broke free, and fired. The results were a line of explosions that went a half-mile away. _

_Ur had barely put a shield up in time. _I can't keep this up…_ she thought. _I'm using too much magic energy._ She looked toward her two students—both were unconscious at the moment. Well, Gray wasn't. He looked at the demon, terror in his eyes._

_"It's okay," Ur told him, helping him up. "Everything's gonna be fine."_

_"You're here," he exclaimed, surprises. "But—why?" _

_"I want you to grab Lyon and get out of here," she told him. "I can't concentrate on fighting if I have to protect you."_

_Gray looked over, and saw Lyon lying on the ground. "Oh no!"_

_"Don't worry, he's fine—just out cold."_

_Gray ran over and helped Lyon up. "Deliora," he muttered. "It's too strong…I didn't stand a chance."_

_"Get going," Ur said, starting after the demon, which was slowly making its way through the town, destroying buildings as it went._

_"Wait! Why'd you come after me?" Gray asked. "I thought I wasn't your student anymore!"_

_Ur paused, and said, "A friend said something recently that made me think. She told me I deserved to be happy. Which shocked me, because I never thought of myself as _un_happy. She just doesn't understand—" She turned to look at him. "—I have two adorable students that I spend each day with, watching them grow. What more could I want?" Gray noticed something as she went on. "I don't think there's anything in the world that could make me happier."_

_"Ur, your leg!"_

_"Oh, you noticed. I lost the real one, but this'll do for now. My maker-magic came in handy. I vowed I would free you from the darkness within you, and if that means I have to fight this demon, then so be it. Now get out of here and let me do this."_

_"No, I'm not leaving you! It's _my_ fault that all of this happened!"_

_"No one's at fault. This is just something we have to go through in order to be happy again." She started walking again. _

_At that moment, Lyon woke up. "Wait Ur," he said._

_She stopped again. "I thought you were unconscious. I need you and Gray to—"_

_"You're going to defeat it, right? You're talking like you're—not gonna make it."_

_"Let her go!" Gray said._

_"Shut up!" Lyon shouted back. To Ur, he went on: "You can beat that thing, no problem. You're the strongest wizard alive—that demon's no match for you!"_

_"Lyon, how many times have I told you? There's always someone better."_

_"But that can't be true."_

_"In the western countries, there are lots of wizards who are more powerful than me."_

_"No, that's not true. It's not, 'cause you're the strongest! If you aren't…then why've I been training with you all this time?"_

_"One day you'll surpass me, and when that day comes, I hope you'll move on to a loftier goal."_

_"I studied with you because I thought you were the best there was! If you let that monster defeat you, you'll prove me wrong! Ur, _don't betray me_!"_

_"Lyon, I—"_

_She broke off when Lyon ran past her, towards Deliora. "if you're not gonna give it your all, then I'll have to do it myself!" Then, when he stopped, he made some sort of stance: his arms crossed in an "X" shape._

_"Lyon, that stance!" Ur exclaimed. "Where did you learn it?!"_

_"Where, you ask? Since you don't wanna teach us powerful magic yourself, I went to the storehouse and read all your magic books!" An ice-blue magic-seal had appeared beneath him, crackling with icy energy. "You hid spells like the Iced Shell from me because you were scared—that's why, isn't it?"_

_"Did you even bother to read that book all the way through?! Do you know what happens to the spellcaster?!"_

_"Will he be okay?" Gray asked._

_"I asked you a question! Answer me, Lyon!"_

_He refused to answer. And Deliora then noticed them. "I know magic's too weak to kill Deliora," Lyon said. "But if I cast the Iced Shell, I can seal it in ice for eternity!" Very suddenly Lyon was frozen in a block of ice—he hadn't cast the spell._

_"Sorry, but I'm _not_ gonna let you do that," Ur said._

_"But Ur, why's it bad?" Gray asked._

_"When that spell's used, the caster's body becomes the Iced Shell itself." Gray blinked, shocked. "He's right, though…that's the only way Deliora can be stopped. I never would've imaged Lyon came up with the same plan I had."_

_"Hey wait, where are you going?"_

_"I must've taught him well," Ur mused to herself. _

_"Ur!"_

_"Stay back!" As Gray watched, she made the stance for the Iced Shell. A magic-seal appeared above Deliora, and others appeared around it. "I won't ever let you hurt my students ever again!" Ur shouted at it. "This is the end of the line, you monster! **Iced Shell**!"_

_There was a burst of light, and ice began to encase Deliora. "Ur, no!" Gray shrieked. "Please, don't do it!"_

_"It's a sacrifice I have to make in order to save the two of you," she replied. "My body will become the ice that seals the demon Deliora…for eternity._

_"Gray, promise me this one thing. Please, tell Lyon I died. If he found out that I turned myself into ice, he'd probably waste his entire life trying to un-do the spell. And that would make my sacrifice meaningless. I want Lyon to live a full life, and see the world…and Gray? I want the same for you."_

_"I'm begging you!" Gray shouted. "Please, don't do this! I promise I'll do whatever you tell me from now on!"_

_She looked at him, even as she was disappearing. "There's no reason to be sad. I'll live on…please don't cry. I may not be with you, but I will protect you from Deliora. Be strong….make me proud…"_

_"UR!"_

* * *

_"Suddenly, I felt all the anger and sadness within me just disappear. At that moment I swore I would always be strong for her. I'd become the best wizard I could to make her proud of me…but Lyon was different."_

* * *

_The white-haired boy's eyes snapped open. "Ow…what'd she do to me?" he asked, sitting up. He immediately saw the humongous iceberg containing Deliora, and stood. "That's Deliora!" He turned to look at Gray. "H-How did it happen?! Did Ur cast the spell…? Did she? Where is she now? _Tell me_!" _

_Through sobs, Gray got out, "She…she's dead…"_

_"No…no…! NO!" Lyon tackled Gray down. "You jerk! How will I surpass her now?! She's dead, and so is my dream, 'cause of _you_!"_

_"I'm sorry…!"_

_"That's not good enough! You won't bring her back! You killed my dream! If you hadn't challenged Deliora, this wouldn't have happened!" Lyon stood and backed away. "It's your fault she's dead. You're the one…you killed Master Ur."_

* * *

"This could go on forever," Natsu said. "So do yourself a favor and give up."

"I would never give you that satisfaction."

In response, Natsu lit a fist on fire. "You're asking for it."

"Oh am I now?"

Suddenly one of the ice walls began cracking. "What the…?" Natsu mused. Then it cracked open, revealing—Gray and Chase.

"Chase! Gray!" Beyal exclaimed.

"Beyal! What happened?" the former asked, running over.

"Leave him to me," Gray growled at Natsu. "It's time we settle things once and for all."

"No way man!" Natsu retorted. "You already lost to him once!"

"And it's not gonna happen again! I'm ready to end this now!"

"You seem awfully confident," Lyon said.

"You were right, Lyon. I'm the one who's to blame for our master's death." Lyon's eyes narrowed. "But you're no better. You threatened my comrades, brought harm to the villagers, and now you're trying to destroy what Ur gave her life to create. It's time we accept our punishment…together."

Lyon's eyes widened. "That stance…! Not the Iced Shell!"

"Iced Shell?" Natsu mused simultaneously with Chase's shocked gasp.

"Gray, you can't!" the raven-haired teen exclaimed. Then it clicked for Natsu.

"Are you insane? You wouldn't dare!" Lyon said, though he was clearly nervous.

"If you wanna live, then change the villagers back to their human forms," Gray said. "And then leave this island, and never return!" A magic-seal appeared beneath him. "If you agree to that, I'll stop. Otherwise this is the end."

"Is that so? Well, I don't believe a word of it. You're bluffing."

But Gray obviously _wasn't_ bluffing. "No I'm not."

"You'll die!" Beyal's eyes went wide when he heard that. Lyon tried casting a spell, but was blown back by the energy.

"Don't do it!" Natsu yelled.

"All these years, I've lied to myself," Gray went on. "I didn't want to admit that Ur died because of me! But she _did_! And it's time I took responsibility! So I will, here and now! I'm not afraid to die—if that's what it takes!"

"Stop this now!" Lyon shouted.

"What's it gonna be, Lyon?! Are we gonna die, or are we gonna live? It's up to you!"

"You wouldn't! You're not brave enough to give your life! You're nothing but a coward!"

"…just watch me."

"_Don't do it_!" Natsu, Chase, and Beyal shouted simultaneously.


	16. Chapter XV

Right as Gray was about to cast the spell…

Natsu punched him in the face, causing it to stop. Gray's expression was priceless. "Natsu?!"

"You can't just come in and steal the show with some fancy talk!" the fire mage said. "Get to the back of the line, pal!"

"Back of what line?"  
"I was here first, so it's _my _fight!"

"When I got here the first words out of my mouth were 'leave him to me'!"

"Yeah and I said 'No way man' like a second after it!"

"Why you—!"

"What? You want some?"

Gray grabbed him by the scarf. "Listen—I got a score to settle with them. You understand?! I'm ready to die if I have to!"

Natsu grabbed his wrist. "Yeah? And what's dying gonna do to settle it, huh? 'Cause it sounds like you're runnin' away to me."

A rumbling sound and the temple starting to shake slightly made all of them stop. "Ah man, what now?" Chase asked no one in particular, looking up.

* * *

Outside, the three girls (and Happy) had taken care of Lyon's minions. "Don't let them scare you!" one—apparently the leader—said. "We must strike down all who oppose the Cold Emperor!"

Then the ground started shaking. "What's that sound?" Erza asked no one in particular.

Jinja turned her head slightly—and saw what the problem was. "No way!" she shouted in disbelief—the temple was now perfectly straight again.

"Whoa, the temple just un-tilted itself!" Happy exclaimed.

* * *

Inside, Natsu was going nuts and trying to smash things up again—but they were reinforced with ice. "This is not good—not good at all!" Beyal said worriedly. Chase gritted his teeth. _The moonlight's gonna shine on Deliora now…_

"Pardon the interruption," Zalty said, running into the room.

"I should've known," Lyon said in an unsurprised tone. "I take it you did this?"

"Indeed I did, sir. The moon will be out soon, so I thought I'd take the liberty of straightening the temple for you."

"That weirdo fixed it all by himself?" Gray asked.

"And after we went through all that trouble to mess it up, too," Natsu grumbled. Raising his voice, he asked, "Hey, so what'd you do to fix it, huh?" Zalty gave them a puzzled look…before laughing. "_Tell me how you did it you jerk!_"

"Now that everything else is in order, I suppose I should commence the Moon Drip ceremony," Zalty said, turning and running off.

Natsu, being Natsu, bolted after him. Chase groaned. "I'll make sure he doesn't get himself killed," he said, starting after them. Beyal also went after them.

"My-my, what a boisterous group you are," Lyon said.

"Tell me something…" Gray started. "A second ago, when I was gonna freeze us both for good…you were counting on Natsu to stop me before I finished, right?"

"No—the opposite, in fact. I never thought he'd be foolish enough to come near a spell like that."

"So you were just gonna stand there and take the hit?"

"Exactly. Because someone would come to rescue me. _You _on the other hand, would be finished for good."

"I should've known…"

"Certainly it would be inconvenient to be sealed in ice, but my allies are as devoted to my cause as I am. And as long as we're on this island, they could use the Moon Drip to melt the ice at anytime they wanted."

"I didn't think of that," Gray admitted. _Guess the Iced Shell is completely useless here._

"Even so, you still want to fight?" Lyon asked. "After what happened last time—and this time you're all by yourself? Don't fool yourself, you could never—"

"That's enough," Gray interrupted.

"What?"  
"Just forget about Deliora."  
"What kind of nonsense is this? Your threats don't work, so you turn to begging? Does your guild have a dentist that removes your fangs, or are you just a coward?"

"Lyon, there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Ur is still alive. The Iced Shell doesn't kill its caster—it uses their body to form the barrier. The ice keeping Deliora sealed away…which you've been trying to melt…is actually Master Ur. She isn't dead—and she lives on as that ice. I'm sorry I never told you the truth back then. Ur made me promise to keep quiet."

Lyon was quiet for a bit. "Of course," he muttered.

"It's over—there's no reason to go through with this anymore!"

If anything, he wasn't prepared for Lyon to stab him with a sword.

"I can assure you, she's not alive anymore," Lyon said. "That's nothing more than a chunk of ice!"

Gray tried to get up. "Y-You…you knew all along?"

"_Knowing _is one thing. _Believing _is another. And if you truly believe Ur is alive, then you're an even greater fool than I thought."

"You knew the truth—and you still did this?!" Gray managed to stand.

"And what of it?" Gray then punched him in the face hard enough to send him flying into a wall, cracking the ice. "Impossible! How can you move with that wound?"

"I've had enough," was all Gray said in response. "I wanted—to save you. But I give up now."

"You want the title of 'star pupil' to yourself? Well, I'm sorry, but I have to fight against Deliora soon. And I'd rather not waste my magic energy on you."

"Then we'll just use our fists."

"You want me to fight you without using magic? That's fine by me." Gray ran towards him, aiming to punch—only to get punched right in his wound. "Aim for the opponent's weak spot, and hit it with all you have," Lyon recited. "Ur taught us that, remember?"

"You have no right to speak her name! And I won't let you!"

* * *

"Get back here and answer my question already ya freak show!" Natsu shouted. Zalty laughed again. "C'mon man, why won't you say how you fixed the temple?"

Zalty suddenly stopped and whirled around, raising a hand—and a large, grayish-silver magic-seal appeared over it—

And a circular portion of the ceiling suddenly fell. "That all you got? What a joke!" Natsu, of course, smashed it.

What they didn't expect was for the pieces of stone to suddenly rearrange themselves and fix the ceiling. "There you have it," Zalty said. "That's how I fixed the temple after you and that little monk brat so rudely tilted it."

"What kind of magic was that?" Chase asked.

"If you really must know, I practice one of the Lost Magicks. In other words, its strength and power are so great, it has been erased from history itself."

"Whoa, seriously?"

"The Dragon-Slayer magic you practice is no different…" he said to Natsu. (Natsu: "Really?") "Although I'm not quite sure about the magic you two and Trey use." He then vanished in a blur.

"Wha'—where'd he go?!" Natsu stomped his foot angrily. "I wanna fight!" he complained. Before they went to look for him, Beyal suddenly froze, a blank look in his eyes. "Hey, what's wrong with him?" A few moments later, Beyal shook his head, a startled look on his face.

"What'd you see?" Chase asked, taking a guess on what that was about.

"I will tell you later. First, we must find that strange man."

* * *

Gray was losing horribly. "What a shame," Lyon said. "Your fists are as weak as your magic." Gray glared at him, and ran towards him—only to get kicked into a wall.

He smirked a bit at a memory. "What we're doing right now…kinda reminds me of someone I used to spar with when I was a kid." _Natsu…_

* * *

_"Get up!" Natsu shouted._

_"You're the one who needs to get up!" Gray retorted—true, as Natsu was the one on the ground. Makarov and Erza watched on. "So come on!" Natsu did as such—and got punched in the face, knocking him down again. "Sorry, but you lose." Gray started to walk away…_

_…and Natsu said, "Hold on!" He stood up. "This fight's not near over, Gray!" _

_"Well, if that's the way you want it…"_

* * *

"That settles it. You're no match for me after all," Lyon said, as Gray had again been knocked into a wall. But as he started to walk away—

"Hold on," Gray said, making him stop. He stood. "This fight's not over yet."

"I should've killed you when I had the chance!" Lyon shouted, running towards him—

And they punched each other in the face, although this time it was Lyon who was knocked into a wall. "You're gonna have to step up your game if you wanna beat me!" Gray shouted. Lyon very suddenly punched him again. "You didn't give up against Natsu, and I'm not gonna give up against you!" Gray landed another blow. Lyon responded with an uppercut-kick. "I'm not gonna lose, you hear me?!"

Coincidentally, the fight was happening the exact same way as another a long time ago, although Gray had been fighting Natsu back then.

"I won't lose—I'm not going down!" Gray shouted.

"You'll never defeat me!" Lyon retorted.

The fight those years ago had ended in a draw, as both kids had punched each other hard enough in the face to knock the other over.

This time, Gray managed to kick Lyon in the face hard enough to send him flying.

* * *

**Sorry about it being short. I just so happened to catch a very bad cold...and right on my birthday to boot. ~Myra**


	17. IMPORTANT NOTE

**Just getting this out. Not only has the enormity of this project really hit me (175 episodes _and soon to be counting_!), I sort of want to focus on my other fic ideas. It doesn't help that I'm sort of out of my "Fairy Tail" hype.  
**

**I am NOT abandoning this...I'm just putting it on extended hold. I might get myself to work on at least the rest of this arc at some point, but it isn't likely.**

**~Myra  
**


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